Spy
by xxbluewingsxx
Summary: Set after X2. A new mutant has come to Xavier's School, and somehow Rogue ends up getting on the recieving end of the all the new girl's hate. Rogue begins to feel lonely, but finds one person willing to listen to all her troubles. Ryro.
1. Prologue: Girl Next Door

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. I don't own the song either 'Girl Next Door' by Saving Jane. And don't worry, not every chapter will have a song. There's probably only going to be one other towards the end.**

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**SPY**

**Prologue: Girl Next Door**

Small town homecoming queen  
She's the star in this scene  
There's no way to deny she's lovely  
Perfect skin, perfect hair  
Perfumed hearts everywhere

Rogue hated the new mutant. Some may say she was being harsh. Of course, she was quiet and hardly spoke her thoughts. But Rogue couldn't help it. She hated Carol Danvers as much as she hated the song that was playing on the radio.

Tell myself that inside she's ugly  
Maybe I'm just jealous  
I can't help but hate her  
Secretly I wonder if my boyfriend wants to date her

The song wasn't the problem. It was the fact Carol hated Rogue above everything else. Of course, when around others, she acted all sweet and innocent, it was when they were alone chaos ensued.

She is the prom queen, I'm in the marching band  
She is a cheerleader, I'm sitting in the stands  
She gets the top bunk I'm sleeping on the floor  
She's Miss America and I'm just the girl next door

Everyone loves the smart, powerful, beautiful Carol Danvers. She was 'perfect' in every single way. How could you not love her? She helped everyone with their work, and was loyal in the danger room. But Rogue hated her to pieces.

Senior class president  
She must be heaven sent  
She was never the last one standing  
A backseat debutant

Everything that you want  
Never to harsh or too demanding

Rogue had her reasons, but she wished she could talk to someone, but it was nearly impossible. It was hard to tell someone you were hurting. She didn't just mean the cuts and bruises, and on one occasion, broken ribs, she meant the feeling of betrayal.

Maybe I'll admit it  
I'm a little bitter  
Everybody loves her

But I just wanna hit her

Nobody was there for her anymore. Not like they used to. Logan was always off in his own world, thinking about the deceased Jean, and Bobby had begun to float away from her. Ever since Alkali Lake, he had been spending less time with her, and more with Carol. It was almost like she wasn't even dating him anymore. Pyro had ditched her in the Blackbird and hadn't been seen of again, but everyone knew he had gone to Magneto. That was where the most hurt came from.

She is the prom queen I'm in the marching band  
She is a cheerleader I'm sitting in the stands  
She gets the top bunk I'm sleeping on the floor  
She's Miss America and I'm just the girl next door  
Oh and I'm just the girl next door

Rogue missed John more than anyone could understand. Rogue often wondered if she had ever truly loved Bobby. But John was officially the enemy, so she couldn't afford to let her thoughts stay on him too long. No, their was only one person there for her. It was the firecracker Jubilation Lee, but even then, Rogue could only tell her limited information. So, nearly everything stayed with Rogue. In her mind and in her heart.

I don't know why I'm feeling sorry for myself  
I spend all my time wishing that I was someone else

But Jubilee wasn't the problem, nor was John. It was Carol Danvers. Carol Danvers and her cruel ways. Yes, Rogue was pretty much abused by Ms. Marvel. For reasons Rogue couldn't understand, Carol hated her from the first moment she laid eyes on her. Rogue wondered if Carol was oddly jealous of her, or if she just liked to show she was stronger, and better than pitiful little Rogue. Rogue later came to the assumption it was because she didn't like her absorption powers.

She is the prom queen I'm in the marching band  
She is a cheerleader I'm sitting in the stands

Everything Rogue was mopping about, was why she was sitting here, in the food court of the mall, all by herself. Her head was bowed, in a defeated kind of way. Rogue growled, she hated this song. It reminded her too much of her current situation. Prefect Miss Carol Danvers. Mantrap, cruel, evil, little, petty, petty thief-bitch that Rogue wanted to pound into the dirt. She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't notice someone sit across from her.

I get a little bit, she gets a little more  
She's Miss America and... she's Miss America  
I'm just the girl next door...

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A/N: Yah! Another story I'm working on! And there is a Rogue pairing for this story, and that person will end up becoming like, the secondary character, but I don't want to say who it is yet. Though I think most of you will figure it out (because let's face it, you guys are smart... or at least smartter than me) Anyways, tell me what you think of my new story and I'll continue it if you like it. 


	2. The Day Carol Came

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. **

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The Day Carol Came

_It's been a month. I know I should move on, but... oh Jean, why'd you have to go? _Logan walked down the hall of the Institute. He shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a long sigh. "I need a beer." He muttered to himself.

"Got a spare to loan a friend?" A voice asked from behind.

Logan turned to see Scott Summers standing outside his bedroom door, his face red from where tears had recently been shed, no doubt. Scott had it worse than Logan. Logan had always thought Scott was rather stiff and had a stick too far up his ass, but since Alkali Lake, he had felt nothing but sympathy for the other man.

Logan was kind of surprised to see Scott out of his room. He'd always stayed locked up, never leaving for any reason. Logan nodded once to the other man. "Sure."

They walked further down the hall to Logan's room where he kept the alcohol. The doorbell rang just as he opened the door. He looked over at Cyclops. "Go on ahead, I'll be back in a minute."

He walked back down the hall to the main foyer. Just as Rogue was walking across, having been closer to the main doors.

Logan gave her a smile. "Good afternoon."

Rogue returned the smile. "Hey Logan." She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door to reveal a girl with ice blue eyes that could pierce the soul, and wavy blonde hair that seemed to glow. She stood an inch or two higher than Rogue, and had an overly sweet smile on her face.

"Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters?" She asked. Before Rogue could answer, she walked in, almost shoving Rogue. Rogue avoided by taking a step back.

Okay, someone is a little enthusiastic.

Logan still had his hands in his pockets. "Yup."

The blonde strode past Rogue. "Oh good. I've been trying to find this place for hours. Certainly is lovely. Would you be so kind as to escort me to Xavier's office?" She asked, blinking a few times, and flicking her hair over one shoulder.

Rogue almost collapsed in shock. This woman... was _flirting_ with

Logan didn't pay attention to the flirtation. "It depends. What's your name?"

The woman gave a small laugh. "Oh, my name is Carol Danvers, code name Ms. Marvel. Marvel for marvellous." She winked once at Logan.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Alright. Follow me."

Carol put up on finger. "Oh, wait a second." She turned to Rogue. "Would you be so kind deary, and bring my things inside please?"

Rogue sighed and gave a small smile. "Sure I guess I could."

Carol smiled with an overly sweet look. She turned back to Logan. "Shall we?" She asked with another few bats of her eyelashes.

The pair left and Rogue walked outside to get Carol's thing. What she saw, made her jaw touched the ground. She expected perhaps only three or four bags, but there before her eyes were at least twenty bags. She gave a small sigh and rolled her eyes up to look at the sky. _Why me? _She looked back at the pile of bags and grabbed the nearest duffel bag and slung it over he shoulder. She grabbed the to closest two suitcases and trudged back into the school with a scowl on her face.

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A half hour later, Rogue flopped onto her bed as she breathed out slowly. _That took so long. _Rogue raised a hand and massaged her right shoulder. _And her bags weighed tonnes. How on Earth did she ever manage to get them all here? _She closed her eyes as she listened to the silence that was engulfing the room.

_Maybe I can get some rest now..._

_All X-Men report to my office, please. _

Rogue opened her eyes and moaned when she heard the familiar summoning from Xavier in her head. She rolled off her bed and left her room, heading to the Professor's office as slowly as she dared. 

It took her a grand total of ten minutes to reach his office, and low and behold, she was the last.

Scott was frowning at her, as though annoyed she took so long. Xavier on the other hand, just gave her a smile. "Thanks for joining us Rogue. Now..." He turned from her so he could look at everyone in the room.

Kitty and Jubilee were standing near the door. They shifted over until they were standing next o her. Logan was leaning against the fireplace, Scott and Storm sitting on one of the couches in the middle of the room. Peter almost seemed to be off in his own world from where he sat on the windowsill. Bobby was standing near the doorway so he inched his way came to her side and gave her a small smile. Rogue's only response was to yawn and he chuckled slightly.

Xavier turned to face the others. "This is Carol Danvers. She's our newest member of the X-Men team."

_Just like that? _Rogue wondered.

Xavier nodded at Carol and she beamed brightly. "Hi everyone! My codename is Ms. Marvel. I'm from Boston. My mutation is..." She paused for dramatic effects. "Invulnerability, flight and super strength."

Rogue blinked a few times.

So why couldn't she carry her bags herself?!

Xavier nodded again to Carol. "Now, why doesn't everyone else introduce themselves?" He looked at everyone else.

Storm gave the blonde a smile. "Hi Carol, nice to meet you. I'm Ororo, or Storm. I control the weather."

Bobby went next. "Hey, Bobby or Iceman. I create ice."

It went on like this until finally it was Rogue's turn. "Rogue. I absorb others."

Carol blinked. "What's your name?"

Rogue blinked back at her. "I told you. It's Rogue."

Carol was giving her an overly sweet smile. "What's your real name?"

Rogue tried her hardest not to let the growl in the back of her throat come out. "Rogue's the only name I go by."

Before Carol could say anything, Logan cut in. "Logan or Wolverine." Carol turned her attention to the other man and Rogue shot him a quick look of thanks. "I have a healing factor, heightened senses and metal claws."

Storm began talking again, seeing as everyone had now introduced themselves. "So will you need to continue with school?"

Carol giggled again. "I don't think so. I'm already done high school. I'm twenty-three."

Storm looked a bit embarrassed and Carol's giggling soon subsided. "I know, don't I look great for my age?"

Xavier grinned. "Well, now that we're all introduced, how about Rogue gives you a tour of the school?"

Rogue nodded and Carol looked excited. "I'd love that Professor! It'd be a great chance to get to know different members of the team!"

Xavier grinned. "Alright. Tomorrow we'll have Kitty and Jubilee give you a tour of city and Storm will get you enrolled as a teacher."

Carol grinned. "Sounds like a plan." She turned to look at everyone in the room. "Well, see you all later!"

She followed Rogue out of the office.

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A/N: Okay, I realize it's hard to judge a story based on the first chapter (Especially when the chapter is half lyrics) So I decided to post the second chapter. 


	3. Taunted

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men

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Taunted**Carol had pretty much been quiet as Rogue showed her around the Institute. The only time she spoke was when she was introduced to other mutants. 

The others would smile or wave. At one point one of the younger students walked past with a smile and a 'hi Rogue!'

Carol was twisting her hair around one finger. "Why'd you choose the codename Rogue?" She asked, sounding slightly bored.

Rogue was caught off guard by the question. Rogue didn't want to get into details, but she didn't want to be rude and ignore the newest member of the team. She opted for a short explanation. "When my mutation first developed, I put my first boyfriend into a coma. I ran away from home and vended for myself for about eight months before meeting Logan and coming here."

Carol walked a littler quicker until she was in step with Rogue. "Everyone chooses a name that revolves around their mutation though." Carol said 'matter-of-factly'. She suddenly smirked. "Why not something like Vampire?"

Rogue stopped walking, her jaw dropping. She instantly closed her mouth and took a big step so she was in step with Carol, though she was still shocked by her rudeness, and hurt by her comment.

"I don't drink others blood." Rogue stated as calmly as she could.

Carol was indifferent and spoke as though she hadn't noticed Rogue's hurt. "But you both steal lives, so it's pretty close."

Rogue shook her head. "It's not close at all. I don't steal others lives. I touch people and I absorb their thoughts, memories, powers if their mutants-"

Carol cut in. "And their life force. I know. You steal lives." Carol shot back in such a harsh way, it caught Rogue off guard. Carol moved a couple inches away from Rogue. "Don't come near me Vampire." She said in cool tone.

Rogue fell silent, wondering what she could have done that made Carol insult her so.

Rogue stopped at a door and pushed it open. "Well anyways, this is the end of the tour. Here's your room. All the teachers are on this floor. If you need anything, just ask the other teachers." She turned, and began walking at a rather quick pace.

"Come back here Vampire!"

Rogue stopped and turned slowly, resisting the urge to get mad. She walked back and Carol gave her a crossed look between a smirk and a grin.

"Seeing as you're already here, I find it pointless to call someone else to assist me." She gave her a mock smile. "Do you mind helping me rearrange the room and help unpack my stuff?" She said in such a sweet, polite tone, quite unlike her rude harsh one before.

Rogue came to the conclusion she had only been teasing before, and didn't mean any of what she had said. Rogue nodded, giving her one of her smiles. "I'd love to."

Carol jumped into the room. "Oh good! I was thinking of moving the desk to the other side of the room, and moving the bed under the window. Do you think you could move it for me? That way I can observe the effect."

Rogue stood stock still for a minute, thinking Carol was joking.

Carol turned her piercing blue eyes on Rogue. "Well get a move on!" She snapped.

Rogue shook her head, clearing her mind of her thoughts. She grabbed the edge of the bed, and began dragging it across the floor, making sure it stayed pushed against the wall.

Carol stood at the other side of the room, rocking back and forth on her heels. Suddenly she screamed. "Stop!"

Rogue was surprised and let go of the bed, taking a step back. Carol rolled her eyes. "It's too far. Move it back a bit."

Rogue sighed and pushed the bed a couple inches. Carol was grinning. "A little more... more...more...Stop!" Rogue stopped but Carol sighed. "No, it needs to move half a centimetre back."

Rogue did so and Carol beamed. "That's perfect! Just like that." She flew across the room and sat on the bed. "Alright, now we get started on that desk!"

Rogue walked across the room and began tugging the desk across the room. It was a lot heavier than she expected. After dragging it for a few minutes, she managed to get it to the other side of the room. She looked at Carol expectantly.

Carol looked deep in thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I like it against that wall instead."

Rogue grabbed the desk and moved it to the wall opposite the bed. She put it right beside the closest.

Carol stopped up, giving a small clap of happiness. "Perfect! It looks lovely."

Rogue smiled faintly, rubbing her sore arms. Carol looked at her pile of luggage still near the door and went over to them. "I'm going to hand you stuff and you put them away. Okay?"

Rogue shrugged. "Sure."

How Rogue later regretted it. Carol clearly didn't think when she handed Rogue things. She'd hand her a pair of socks, and Rogue would put it in her dresser which was at the other side of the room beside the bed. When Rogue got back to Carol, she's just hand her another pair of socks. Rogue would again run it across the room, put it away, then Carol would just hand her another pair.

Unpacking all twenty bags took about an hour and half. Afterwards, Carol had Rogue rearrange the clothes in her closest, not liking the order they were hung in. Then switch her drawers so shirts were at the top, and socks were in the bottom drawer.

Finally, after another half hour, she was satisfied with her room. "Okay, you can go. Thanks for all your help!"

Rogue gave her a tired smile. "No problem." She stifled a yawn. "I think I'm going to rest."

Carol nodded and gave Rogue a sympathetic look. "Do you want me to get you some dinner? I mean, it's going be supper in like 5 minutes. Want me to take something up to your room?"

Rogue was shocked by her sudden burst of kindness. Rogue nodded gratefully. "Yah! That's be great, thanks!"

Carol nodded and on the way out of the room, she called in a bit of a teasing and taunting voice. "See you, Vampire!"

Rogue got to her room, and instantly flopped on her bed, not surprised Kitty and Jubilee weren't there. _Probably on the way to dinner. _She thought to herself as she laid on her bed. She wasn't tired enough to sleep, but her limbs were aching from first having carried all twenty bags, then having to rearrange Carol's room.

Rogue must of dozed off, because when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see forty-five minutes had passed. Rogue shot up, her back protesting slightly at the sudden movement.

Rogue felt her tummy rumble and saw how everything in the room hadn't changed one bit since she had fallen asleep. _Where's Carol?_ Rogue got off her bed slowly and made her way out of her room, feet dragging on the rug.

She almost instantly saw Carol bounding down the hall, looking rather happy.

"Carol?" Rogue half called, half asked.

As soon as Carol saw Rogue, she covered her mouth with both hands. "Sorry! I forgot to bring you up some dinner! Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

Rogue shrugged. "It's alright. I'll go down now and get some."

Carol shook her head. "You can't. Dinner just finished and there's nothing left."

Rogue's stomach rumbled quite loudly as she made her way back to her room. Carol called down the hallway at her, in an almost taunting voice. "Sorry Vampire!"

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A/N: Eek! Carol's pretty mean. The paring is still a secret. You're going to have to wait longer for it. Only I know what it is. Anyways, I'll get back to work on this story.


	4. Insulted

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men**

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Insulted

The next morning, Rogue dressed in a record time of fifteen seconds, before bolting down the stairs at top speed, her stomach rumbling so loud, she was surprised the school wasn't shaking. 

She almost ran head on into Logan, who came from a split in the hall. She stopped an inch away from him.

"Sorry!" She breathed, panting from running all the way down the hall and down the stairs.

Logan gave her an amused look as her stomach growled loudly, protesting to the fact she had stopped to talk with Logan.

"I see you're thinking with your stomach." He pointed out, chuckling slightly.

"Yah well," Rogue slipped past him. "I missed supper last night." _Because of a certain liar._ She added to herself.

Logan rubbed the back of his neck as he followed her down the hall. "I was wondering about why you weren't there. Carol said you were really exhausted, though I can't imagine why. I mean, you only gave her a tour."

Rogue stopped walking.

_She didn't tell them about all the bags I carried, or the furniture I moved... that... that... Psycho!_

Before she could answer, Logan said in a concerned voice. "You aren't coming down with something, are you?"

Rogue shook her head, her mood changing at how worried Logan was. "I'm fine Logan. I didn't sleep well the night before. That's all. I'm all rested up now though." _Well my mind is, but my arms sure aren't. _"And starving!" She exclaimed as they reached the kitchen. They were the first ones there and there was tons of food. Rogue took about twice as much as she would normally eat, wolfing it all down as though afraid it would try to run away.

Logan sat across from her at the table and watched her amused for a moment before chuckling and beginning to eat his own food. "The food won't be growing legs Rogue." He reassured her.

Rogue gulped the food in her mouth loudly and began laughing with him.

The doors swung open and Carol came bursting in the room, beaming brightly. "Good morning to all!" She said all too cheerfully.

She piled food on her plate and sat down at the table, near Logan. By now Rogue had finished off half her food.

Carol looked from Rogue's plate to Rogue as she sat back in her chair, now slowing down at the speed she was eating. Carol began eating too and when she was done she grinned.

Carol grinned in a weird teasing manner. "With all that food, I wonder how you manage to keep yourself looking... the size you're at. Not thin, but you're not fat yet."

Rogue began choking and coughed, while smacking her chest to dislodge the food. Before Logan could react though, the food went down and Rogue coughed out. "Excuse me?"

Carol rolled her eyes and grinned. "Relax. I'm just teasing... though I think that may be a sign you've had enough to eat."

Rogue shook her head. Sure her stomach wasn't rumbling anymore, but she still felt slightly hungry.

Carol stood up shaking her head. "You don't want to get fat do you?" She picked up her plate, then Rogue and walked over to the counter.

Rogue gaped at Carol. "I wasn't done eating yet." She informed the blonde.

Carol shrugged and threw the rest of the food in the garbage then put both set of dishes in the sink. "I'm looking out for your health. I seriously think you should watch what you eat. Might I recommend a diet?" She giggled and left the kitchen.

Rogue looked down at her stomach. _There's nothing wrong with my size! _She looked back up at Logan who was still sitting across the table from her, one eyebrow raised. "There's nothing wrong with your weight, Darling, don't worry about it." He reassured her. "I think she was just joking."

Rogue flopped back in her chair, a scowl on her face. "Well it wasn't funny." She snapped.

Logan sighed. "Yah, I know." He gave her a grin. "Don't worry too much about what she says. I don't think she really means it."

_Yah right! Just like how she didn't mean to call me Vampire?! _Rogue thought darkly. She gave Logan a smile. "Thanks. Well I'm going back upstairs. I'll see you later." She left the kitchen and began walking up the stairs. Halfway up she felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of her head. She spun around and saw Carol looking at her from the bottom of the stairs.

Carol smirked. "So you going to diet like I suggested?"

Rogue resisted the urge to snort and shook her head to the side once. "No. I was just really hungry today was all."

Carol scoffed. "Well if you were really hungry yesterday, you wouldn't have skipped dinner." She stated.

Rogue couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You offered to get me something!"

Carol began giggling. "How could I? I didn't know where your room was." She floated off the ground and stood in front of Rogue. "You know what? I'm surprised you aren't fat. I mean, all you do is eat and sleep. You're just a lazy vampire."

Rogue blinked a few times, confused and hurt by her words. "How can you call me lazy? I carried all your luggage in, gave you a tour of the school and moved furniture around your room."

Carol sighed. "Oh my God. One day of doing stuff. But you were exhausted afterwards, and what have you been doing every other day."

Both girls whipped their heads around and saw Kitty and Jubilee walking down the stairs. Both girls smiled brightly and waved. "Hi Rogue! Hi Carol!"

They stopped on the step above them and Kitty spoke. "So after we eat, we'll meet you in the garage and then we'll drive out to the city. Okay?"

Carol beamed and gave them a thumbs up. "Sounds cool!"

Jubilee turned to the two toned hair girl. "Did you want to come Rogue?"

Rogue thought about it, than realized that going might me more taunts and insults from the 'joking' Ms. Marvel. She shook her head. "Thanks, but I promised to do a partner simulation with Logan today." She lied.

Kitty and Jubilee nodded. "Kay. We'll see you later than!" They waved and continued down the stairs.

Rogue instantly shot up the stairs, not wanting to be around Carol any longer. Rogue walked down the stairs and went inside her room, closing the door behind her. She let out a long breath and went over to the balcony. She opened the doors and stepped outside, leaning against the banister.

The sun beat down on her face, warming her whole body. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sunlight until she could tell something was shadowing over her. She opened her eyes to see Carol floating on the other side of the railing.

Carol smirked. "You ran off so fast I didn't get a chance to tell you." She leaned in slightly, as though it was a secret. A second later she raised a hand and flicked Rogue on the forehead, hard. "Stay away from me, Vampire!" She hissed and flew away.

Rogue rubbed her forehead, wincing. She went back inside the room and went across the room. She looked in the mirror and her jaw fell. Great! Not she had a small bruise of her forehead. And all Carol had done was flick her.

"Damn her, and her super strength!" Rogue cursed under her breath.

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A/N: You hated Carol before and now you hate her more I bet. In a few chapters I'll bring in the mysterious person from the beginning... give it like 5 or so chapters. 


	5. Shoved

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men**

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Shoved

Rogue pretty much enjoyed the entire day in her room, reading a book, on the balcony, enjoying the nice day, walking around in the forest, loving the temperature. It was warm, but not so hot she was boiling, but not cold where she was freezing. It was just perfect. 

At one point she did go down to the Danger Room, and wouldn't you know it, Logan was doing a simulation and invited her to join him.

It was close to five when Rogue went back upstairs. She changed quickly and she left her bedroom again, hearing voices coming down the hallway.

She stood still for a moment, trying to tell who it was. She heard the all too familiar voice of Jubilee, and instantly realized they must have returned from their tour. She took a step forward, to go meet them at the corner of the hall, but realized Carol must still be with them.

She whipped around and went to go back inside her room, but froze when Kitty called her.

"Hey Rogue! We're back!"

Rogue turned back around, putting a surprised look on her face. "Oh hi! Did you guys have a good time?" She asked.

Jubilee nodded excitedly. "Yup. Oh, Chica, you should have been there! Their were these totally hot guys at the park."

Kitty elbowed Jubilee in the ribs hard. "Like she'd care. She's got a boyfriend, Jubilee. Remember Bobby?"

Carol was intrigued. "Iceman?" All three girls nodded. "Wow... that's interesting... huh." She walked past the three, almost appearing off in her own world.

Jubilee and Kitty went inside the bedroom. The door closed behind them and Rogue breathed in heavily. She had managed to avoid being insulted by Carol.

She made to go in her room, but she felt something slam into her back and shove her against the wall. She heard Carol hiss in her ear. "How is it, the untouchable Vampire has a boyfriend?"

Suddenly Rogue was released, and Rogue turned to face Carol, but saw she was already at the other end of the hall, a couple inches off the ground as she flew away.

Snorting in disbelief and anger she spun around, while rubbing her sore chest, to see her very own boyfriend coming around the other corner. Bobby seemed lost in thought but beamed and waved when he saw her. "Hey Rogue. Where have you been? I was looking for you earlier."

Rogue smiled and gave him a hug when he was close enough. "Sorry Bobby. I was in my room reading and doing Danger Room with Logan."

Bobby nodded in understanding. "Right. Well I was wondering if you felt like going to a movie tonight."

Rogue thought for a minute. She felt like going out, but at the same time, she wasn't in the mood for a movie. "I'm not in the mood to go to the theatres." She told him. At the look of disappointment on his face though, she quickly added. "How about a walk after dinner?"

Bobby grinned again. "That sounds good. Anyways, I'll see you at supper." He kissed her forehead where her hair protected him and left back down the hall the way he had come. Most likely going back to his room.

Rogue turned back around and let out the small groan of pain she had been holding in. Her stomach and chest tingled with a bit of pain. Putting on a fake smile, she went inside her room.

Jubilee was sitting on her bed, and Kitty was nowhere to be seen. "Hey Chica. What were you doing out there?"

Rogue shrugged. "Just talking to Bobby." She said as she slowly moved to sit on her own bed.

Jubilee smiled, lowering the magazine she had been reading. "Yah, I thought I heard him out there. And Carol too. Was she talking to you guys?"

Rogue shook her head. "No, she wasn't there." Rogue said slowly.

Jubilee tilted her head to the side a bit. "Really? Well, did you hear that thumping noise? Sounded like someone banged into the wall."

Oh no! Had Jubilee heard what Carol had said? Rogue's eyes widened_. She can't know. _Rogue told herself.

_She'd never believe me. That or she'd think I'm a raving lunatic. Or desperate for attention. Or... I don't know, but this is something I have to discuss with Carol. It's none of Jubilee's business. _

_Ro_gue forced herself to give a small laugh. "Oh that was me. I tripped and fell on the ground." She laughed a little harder, though it sounded so fake to her ears. "How clumsy of me. Oh well, no harm done, huh?"

Jubilee gave her a weak smile and went back to her magazine. With another fake laugh, Rogue got up and went into the bathroom. "I'm going to shower before dinner." She told her room mate.

"Kay cool. I'll wait for you and we can head down together." Jubilee replied before Rogue closed the door.

Ten minutes later Rogue stepped out of the shower, grabbing her towel and drying herself off. Rogue had to bite back a scream of frustration when she looked in the mirror and saw a fairly large bruise on her chest.

_Damn it Carol!_

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A/N: Okay I lied... um... so the mysterious person will be coming in over 5 chapters. Sorry how the each of the chapters in the story seem repetitive. Next chapter is different... cause everyone's in the Danger Room!!! Woot! -calms down- so see you all later.

And sorry the chapter is so short! Promise next one will be longer!


	6. Put The Blame On Me

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men**

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Put the Blame On Me

After dinner (And Rogue and Bobby's walk) Storm and Scott had everyone assemble in the basement for a Danger Room session. Everyone was in full uniform, listening as Scott and Storm explained the session. 

The Simulation itself was simple. It was an obstacle course, they had done it before. Only problem was, once they reached the halfway mark, the team began to fall apart. They had never beaten the Simulation. It was divided into three parts. It was just after the second bit they failed.

After explaining the Simulation everyone filed into the metallic room which soon turned into large city, engulfed in flames. The team was divided into teams of two with one team of three.

Luckily for Rogue, she got paired with Colossus, but they were also at the furthest point in the city. Oh well, she'd done it before. All they had to do was get to the place the team had agreed to meet at without the Sentinels noticing them.

Colossus nodded to Rogue and they took off down the street, eyes peeled for the slightest movement of a Sentinel. Being the furthest away from the meeting point had it's perks. It meant that the Sentinels would be focusing on trying to locate those closer to the meeting point.

As Colossus and Rogue drew closer and closer to the meeting point, they became more and more cautious.

Rogue saw something fly high over her and Colossus's head. "Hide!" She hissed and pushed Colossus into a nearby alley. They both pressed against the side of the alley, hardly daring to breath. Rogue forced herself to look upwards and could have slapped herself.

Flying above them was not a Sentinel, but a flock of birds, all screeching in high-pitched tones. "Damn it!" Rogue hissed.

Colossus looked up, but his face remained neutral. "Better to be safe then sorry." He whispered.

"Pst! Rogue! Colossus!" Rogue and Peter looked at the other end of the street to see Jubilee and Storm in the shadows of an alley. "Quick! Over here!" Jubilee hissed, beckoning them over with her hand.

Rogue and Colossus peered out from the alley. Colossus tugged Rogue back in when a Sentinel appeared at the further end of the street. Rogue looked back out. When the Sentinel wasn't looking she dashed across the street, Colossus on her heels. The Sentinel began turning around just as the pair dove into the alley and out of sight.

"You two okay?" Storm asked.

Rogue and Colossus nodded, both out of breath.

"We need to get to the meeting area." Storm said, instantly taking charge.

"Are we close?" Jubilee asked.

"We're on the edge of the city. We just have to find the forest."

"I know the way. Come on!" Colossus took off down the alley. Jubilee and Rogue followed without second thoughts, Storm following after slight hesitation.

They came to the far end of the alley, nothing in the streets. It was completed deserted. The four took off down the street, not stopping until they were far in the cover of the trees.

They stood panting for a minute before taking defence positions when the branches rustled. Next thing they knew, Shadowcat was leaping through the bushes, followed closely by Iceman and Ms. Marvel. Cyclops and Wolverine came through next, following at a slower pace.

Cyclops smirked when he saw them. "Good. I was hoping you'd find them-" He nodded to Rogue and Colossus. "It makes things easier."

"So? What next?" Ms. Marvel asked, looking as though she was currently having the time of her life.

"We need to come up with a plan." Storm said, but before she could say more, nearby trees were uprooted and Sentinels were glaring down at them.

"RUN!" Shadowcat and Jubilee screamed and took off running.

Everyone else didn't need to be told twice and took off the other two.

"I _still_ don't get it!" Wolverine growled. "We're supposed to defeat the Sentinels. So why do we keep running?"

"We need a plan Wolverine! We can't just charge into battle! Careless actions like that is what kills others." She said sternly.

Wolverine snorted. "You might not have noticed Storm, but we never actually manage to come up with a plan."

"Because we need to be able to come to an agreement about it." Cyclops pointed out.

By now they had stopped running and were now hiding out at the edge of the forest, near a cliff.

"Why not just sneak on them?" Shadowcat suggested.

"No." Cyclops instantly cut in. "We already tried it. It doesn't work. They always know where we're coming from."

"We just need to find better hiding places." Iceman pointed out.

"Why not just full out charge them?" Wolverine said, a hopeful look on his face.

"No." Storm was shaking her head. "They always get us before we can make a move." She sighed.

"Ambush." Ms. Marvel grinned. "Split the team. Mutants with an offence power attack the Sentinel, while those with defence do a distraction so the others get into positions and can attack without being spotted."

Everyone looked at Ms. Marvel intently, as though expecting her to continue. "We split the offence people up. Half on rooftops for higher attacks, and some on ground level for lower attacks. Spread out so if the Sentinels try to attack, they can't get us all in one blow. The defence people will obviously be on ground level. While they distract, the others get in position, contact one another and attack all at once."

"It's good." Storm nodded in satisfaction.

"So defence would be Shadowcat and Rogue. Maybe you should stay down here too Wolverine, in case something goes wrong. The rest of us can do long range attacks. Except you Ms. Marvel." Cyclops looked at Ms. Marvel.

Ms. Marvel smirked. "I have no problem with having to do a close up attack"

"Right." Cyclops nodded. Then he began telling everyone there different positions and how the distraction would be done.

Rogue paid attention intently, so she didn't realize how Ms. Marvel seemed to be inching her way closer and closer to Rogue.

Rogue hadn't paid attention to how close she was to the cliff either. Next thing she knew, when nobody was looking, Ms. Marvel shot a hand out and pushed Rogue over the edge of the cliff.

Rogue let out a shriek of fear, as she plummeted down further and further from the cliff top, and closer and closer to the thrashing water and pointed rocks. Then she stopped moving all together.

With a pang of anger, she looked over her shoulder, her green eyes making contact with the ice blue of Ms. Marvel's. Ms. Marvel flew her back up to the top of the cliff and set her down on her own two feet.

They hadn't even been landed for a second when the city and forest disappeared to be replaced with the metallic room of the Danger Room.

"Why'd you turn it off?" Jubilee asked, aghast.

Storm sighed, clearly annoyed. "Rogue's scream would have alerted the Sentinels to our location. They would have found us before we had a chance to get our plan into action. And I doubt we could have escaped them a second time."

Now everyone was looking disappointed, their disappointment pointed in Rogue's direction. Though, their was one gaze that wasn't disappointed. It was Carol's and she was looking very smug and pleased with herself.

"Damn!" Bobby muttered. "And we were further than ever. We had a plan and everything too."

"Oh well." Storm sighed. "Next time."

The team moved to walk out of the room when Scott added. "And try not to be so careless next time Rogue."

Everyone stared at Rogue. Kitty and Bobby gazed at her as though agreeing with Scott. Jubilee continued to look disappointed. Logan and Peter seemed indifferent.

Rogue had a right mind to tell the others she hadn't fallen on purpose! She had been pushed, but Carol flashed her a look, daring her to tell the others.

All Rogue could do was sigh. "I'm sorry." Then added sharply. "Don't look at me!" And with that said, she stormed out of the room.

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A/N: Longer? Yeeeeees. So anyways, I was bored so I decided to post another chapter tonight. Anyways bye for now. I'm going to go watch a movie.


	7. Pissed Off

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men**

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Pissed Off

Rogue went to bed that night pissed off at the whole X-Men team. More especially Carol for making her be the reason the team failed. 

The next day she woke up sore, and found a bruise going around her middle from when Carol had 'saved' her. Carol had squeezed too hard, most likely on purpose, and now she was aching.

Rogue no longer felt angry, but felt depressed, like Carol wasn't just picking on her for the Hell of it, but like she had actually done something wrong, though she couldn't think what is possibly could have been. She'd been nice all along, so what the Hell was going on?

Not finding the answer Rogue knew she would never find, she went downstairs to breakfast.

"Hey Rogue!" Well at least Jubilee and Kitty seemed to have forgotten about the previous day's events.

Rogue smiled and sat at the table. "Good morning." She said reaching across the table to grab the box of frosted flakes.

The door to the kitchen flung open, but Rogue was too busy pouring milk on her cereal to notice. She was about to take a bite when she heard someone exclaim "Oh no!"

Her spoon dug into air as her bowl was snatched away from her. Rogue looked up to see Carol holding the cereal bowl. "Rogue, I thought we agreed you were going to diet." She said sternly, and in an overly concerned tone.

Rogue was about to snap she had no intention of dieting and would appreciate if Carol would give her back her cereal, when Carol slammed an apple onto the table in front of Rogue.

"That should make a good breakfast." She said, sounding satisfied.

Rogue looked at Kitty and Jubilee from the corner of her eye, who were whispering to each other and shooting Rogue worried looks.

_Oh damn!_ Rogue growled to herself. _They probably think I'm anorexic! Well I'm not. _"I'm not eating this." She said calmly. "Until I get my cereal back."

Carol sighed, and with a briefly irritated look, put the cereal back on the table. Rogue knew she had won. Kitty and Jubilee were sitting at the table, and if Carol refused to give Rogue her cereal (meaning Rogue starved herself because of Carol), they would blab to either the Professor or Logan that Carol was treating her unfairly, and that would arise suspicion onto Carol.

_HA! _Rogue really wanted to get in the blonde's face and laugh until her sides hurt, though she was sure from the look Carol was giving her, that the blonde knew exactly of her intentions.

Rogue ate the apple first, hoping that doing so would get Carol off her case. The blonde sat across from Rogue, pouring herself some cornflakes and eating it, at times, joining in on Kitty and Jubilee's conversation, which was no longer concerned, but things they should plan to do that day. It was Sunday, so it meant classes tomorrow. Blah!

All too soon Kitty and Jubilee got up to leave and go finish off any homework they had left, so they could have the rest of the day free to themselves.

It was then Rogue was about to start on her cereal, but before she could take a bite, Carol had pulled the bowl in front of herself. "Diet." She sang.

Rogue turned to see the kitchen door closing behind her friends. They were gone. Damn it! Now Carol was free to do what she liked.

Not exactly liking what that could possibly mean, Rogue got up to leave the kitchen, not feeling like fighting for a bowl of cereal she wasn't sure she'd be able to digest at this point and time.

She went down the hall and upstairs, close to running as she burst into her room, as though afraid Carol was chasing her.

"Um... Rogue? Are you okay?" It was Jubilee talking.

"Uh... Yah, I'm fine." Rogue said slowly.

Kitty and Jubilee exchanged looks. "Really? Because you look kind of freaked out. Like, I don't know, like you were being chased or something."

Jubilee's eyes widened. "You're not being stalked are you?" She asked fearfully.

Rogue shook her head. "No. I just..." Her mind was reeling, trying to come up with an excuse. Her eyes narrowed on Kitty's book on her bedside table. "I just want to get my homework done. Geez Kitty." She said in a passable mock annoyance tone. "You read far too many adventure and mystery novels. Might I recommend you try reading a romance?"

Kitty grinned, clearly taking in Rogue's lie. "Well, I guess that's true. After this one, I planned to read 'Nicola and the Viscount.'"

"That's a good book." Rogue said as she flopped onto her bed and got out her homework. "Good place to start if you're going to read romances. Though, 'Victoria and the Rogue' is better."

Kitty shrugged and stood up, going into the bathroom.

Rogue was working on her math, but stopped when she felt eyes on her. She looked up and saw Jubilee looking at her, eyes reflecting one single word at Rogue. _Liar._

Jubilee continued to look at Rogue. "What really happened?"

Rogue shook her head and went back to work.

"Carol took your cereal away again, didn't she?"

Rogue looked up. How on Earth could she have guessed? "Yah, but it's no big deal, I wasn't really hungry for it afterwards anyway."

Jubilee sat up. "Something's off with that girl. Just wait a minute. I'll go talk to Logan and he'll see that she's taken care of."

She was halfway across the room before Rogue managed to jump in front of her. "No! Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. I wasn't hungry. I'm not hungry! Otherwise I'd talk to Carol myself. Really, don't worry about it."

Jubilee narrowed her eyes and didn't say anything, though she went back to her bed to do her work. Rogue shook her head and went back to hers as well.

Of the three, Rogue was the first one to finish, because she had done quite a bit of her work on Friday and in class.

Having only took a half hour, Rogue decided to go for a walk in the forest, it being her favourite place to think.

As she headed down the hall, she just _had_ to have a run in with Carol.

Rogue walked past her, without so much as a look at her.

Suddenly Carol was walking behind Rogue, talking to her. "You know, you really should thank me. I mean, I'm being such a good person to you, looking out for you and all."

Rogue muttered in a pissed off voice. "If you mean looking out for me by pushing me over a cliff..." She turned around to face Carol. "Then I don't need your help, thanks." She made to continue walking.

Carol snorted. "You should be thankful I was there to save you."

Rogue couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't _pushed _me."

Carol rolled her eyes. "The thing is, I was teaching you a lesson." She was smirking and took a few steps closer to Rogue. "You could _easily _have fallen over the edge of the cliff on your own. You shouldn't have been standing so close to the edge."

"My sense of balance is fine, I'll have you know." Rogue growled. "And I was far enough from the edge I would have been fine."

Carol let out a mocking laugh. "Truth is, I needed to show everyone I'm worthy of being on the team."

Rogue rolled her eyes and bit out. "And pretending to be a hero is sure to get you on the team."

Before Rogue knew what was happening, Carol had reached out a hand and struck Rogue across the side of the face. The force of the blow made Rogue take a few steps back, but Carol had stuck out a foot, so Rogue fell over, landing on her back heavily.

Carol used a foot and felt around Rogue's stomach, as though searching for a specific area, and then pressed down.

"Well here's the other thing. They're bound to be able to need me on the team more than you. I mean, you're powers _are_ pretty worthless. Unless they want you to kill someone. So, don't you think the team will be stronger with me on it and you off?"

She applied more pressure, and Rogue found it hard to breath. She felt like she was being crushed. Carol pressed harder and harder, and soon Rogue couldn't breath at all.

She squirmed trying to get out from under Carol's foot, but how could she possibly get away from someone with super strength? Rogue's face turned redder and redder, as she gasped, trying to breathe. Rogue knew she was going to pass out soon. Either that or her head was going to explode.

It was at that point Carol removed her foot and Rogue gave a long inhale, filling her lungs with much needed oxygen. Carol seized Rogue and stood her upright, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Rogue squeezed her eyes shut, thinking that Carol was holding her steady so Carol could get a few good punches in.

"Hey, the mall next Saturday sounds really good. Maybe we should invite Kitty and Jubilee along."

Rogue couldn't believe what she was hearing from Carol. She forced her eyes to open and saw that down the hall, Storm, Logan and Scott were coming.

Although Carol was squeezing Rogue's shoulder in a hurtful manner, to the others, it looked like she was being really chummy.

Carol gave Rogue a 'friendly' smack on the back. "So I'll talk to you later then. See ya!" She turned around. "Oh! Hey guys!" She said, sounding pretty surprised.

_Crazy liar! _Rogue wanted to scream, but her lungs still felt devoid of air. By the time the others reached her, she was standing upright, her breathing normal. Her back, and cheek stung, with her stomach aching.

As they walked past, Storm lanced in Rogue's direction and froze. "Rogue? Are you alright child? Your cheek is bruised." She commented.

Rogue felt the place Carol had slapped her before, and shook her head, forcing a smile on her face. "I fell out of bed last night is all."

Seeming satisfied with the answer, Storm nodded and continued on down the hall, Scott right beside her. Logan hesitated with a look at Rogue, before following them as well.

Rogue sighed and walked back to her room slowly. She felt like staying there the rest of the day. Just sleeping her pains away. And when she wouldn't be sleeping her pains away, she's be sleeping her misery and troubles away.

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A/N: Okay just to clear things up, I do have a reason Carol's being such a... yes, I just haven't said what it is yet. I will though, but if you want a **hint**, read the title of the story a few times. If you stillll don't get it, I'll be explaining it soon. Just sit tight and bye for now. 


	8. At The Mall

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men

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At The Mall**

"I'm so glad you guys invited us to tag along with you!" Kitty squealed from the backseat. Carol was driving, Jubilee in the passenger seat. Rogue was in the back next to Rogue.

It was Saturday, and the last week had been the worst week of Rogue's life. She had recovered from her pains of last Sunday within a few days, and Carol found a new way to make Rogue's life a living Hell. With all the kids and other teachers around during the weekdays, she had opted for making Rogue feel like a real idiot.

In class, Rogue was generally an A student, maybe with one or two B's. Carol... or Ms. Danvers Rogue was forced to call her in the classroom, gave Rogue and only Rogue F's.

In class, Carol would ask the class questions. The easiest questions she directed to everyone except Rogue. She always asked Rogue questions based on things they hadn't covered and maybe once Rogue had been right. That was it. One out of forty.

And she looked for any excuse to punish Rogue. At one point, she gave Rogue extra Danger Room for yawning, excusing her of 'talking' during the lesson.

At least the extra Danger Room sessions were run by Logan, so it wasn't too bad. Bad part is she usually ended up with about five by the end of Carol's class, so Logan soon became frustrated.

"I should really talk to Carol." He said halfway through her third one. "Because you never used to get extra Danger Room. This is absurd."

Well Logan did talk to Carol the next day. Rogue came to her extra Danger Room session and he recounted the tale of how Carol had given a long heart-felt speech, while crying, about how Rogue had openly insulted Carol and she only saw it fit to give Rogue extra Danger Room, hoping it would make Rogue become a more polite student.

"You can't possibly believe her!" Rogue had exclaimed once he finished.

Logan shook his head. "You're a good kid. I know that. You wouldn't do such a thing." The scary part was that it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of it.

Rogue became more panicky then she had ever been in her entire life. If Logan decided to believe Carol on this, she wouldn't know what to do. She'd probably drive herself insane and then kill herself.

But Carol seemed to realize she was treading on thin ice after her talk with Logan. Rogue's extra Danger Room sessions were limited to about two a day. Still for stupid reasons though.

"Well it wouldn't be the same without you guys!" Carol said, grinning and looking at Kitty through the rear view mirror. At catching Kitty's eye she gave small wink.

Kitty giggled and Jubilee turned in her seat to look at Kitty. "Oh my God! Kit, I saw these totally adorable shoes the other day." She looked at Carol. "Is it okay if we go to the shoe store first?" She asked excitedly.

Carol shrugged and gave a small laugh. "Sure! I mean, it's not like I have any particular store I need to go to. I just thought it'd be nice girl bonding time with my favourite girls." She winked again.

_Yah right. _Rogue said sarcastically in her mind as she slouched in her seat.

"Hey Rogue, you've been awfully quiet." Jubilee directed her attention to Rogue, cutting Carol off who had been in the middle of talking. "Something the matter?"

Rogue looked into the rear view mirror and saw the blonde glaring at her, warning that she keep her mouth shut.  
Rogue forced herself to smile and shook her head. "I'm fine Jubilee. I was just-"

"We're here!" Carol cut Rogue off as she pulled a sharp turn into the shopping mall parking lot.

Kitty went flying out of her seat and rammed into Rogue, who then got slammed into the car door.

"Sorry guys!" Carol said, sounding sincere, but Rogue knew she was far from it. "I didn't notice the turn was coming up so soon. I swear it won't happen again."

Jubilee blinked. "There's another place to turn into the parking lot up there." She pointed a little further down.

Carol blinked, then looked embarrassed. "Oh shit! I forgot! I'm really sorry guys!" She apologized again as she pulled into a parking spot.

Kitty straightened up, shaking her head a bit. "It's okay. Nobody was hurt." She said before hopping out of the car.

Rogue hopped out too, fuming and feeling ready to beat the crap out of someone. She slammed the car door shut with more force than necessary. With that one motion, she felt herself become a bit calmer and by the time the four had reached the mall, but her anger still hadn't subsided by the time they reached the mall.

Like Jubilee had requested, they went to the shoe store first. Jubilee showed them the shoes she had been looking at before and asked for everyone's separate opinions before buying them.

After that they basically wandered around the mall, popping into random stores. For some reason, Rogue felt like they, or more specifically, she was being watched, but every time she looked over her shoulder, she didn't see anybody looking in her direction in the sea of strange faces.

After an hour, Carol had bought the most things, having bought at least twenty bags of purchases, and Rogue had bought nothing. Kitty had three or four bags, and Jubilee had a few more than Kitty.

It was obvious Carol couldn't manage all her bags and Rogue soon became aware of the fact Carol was going to 'ask' for her help.

"Hey Rogue-" Carol started but never got a chance to finish.

"I just remembered something!" Rogue practically yelled. "Meet you back here in an hour!"

She took off in the opposite direction, close to a run. She weaved through the crowd so that if the others followed they wouldn't be able to spot her. She stopped when she reached the set of stairs that would take her up to the next level where the food court was located.

Looking over her shoulder she checked to make sure none of the other three girls were following her to question her abrupt departure. She went up the stairs at a much slower pace.

She went over and got herself a coffee then went and sat down at the nearest table. She placed her purse on the floor by her feet and let out a long sigh.

Of course she had lied when she told the others she had 'forgotten something.' She just wanted an excuse to get away from Carol and her many bags of things.

She sat by herself for quite a long time, drumming her fingers on the table. She was hoping by the end of the hour, the other three would be done their shopping and then they could head home.

She didn't realize the drumming of her fingers had become harder so she was practically banging the table and was starting to become faster and faster.

That is, until someone pointed this out. "You seem mad."

Rogue's had instantly stopped and failed to recognize the familiarity of the voice. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious!" She looked up and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Well, I don't see any reason for you to be mad."

"J...John?" Rogue's eyes hardened at the light brown hair, brown eyes and smirk. "Pyro!" She said in, no longer surprised but greatly annoyed.

"Hello to you too." He said and pulled the chair back and sat down across from her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, glaring at him.

"It's a free country... for now anyways. Don't need to be so testy." He said, sounding as calm as ever.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Rogue said, not at all sounding sorry. "I guess I forgot what a great friend you are. Were. Sorry, _were._ I mean, Hell, you ditched me and Bobby to go follow a guy that tried to kill me. Of course you're still one of my best friends." Rogue growled and pushed her cup of coffee so the hot liquid poured on Pyro's lap.

He jumped up with a yelp, and Rogue grabbed her purse. "Don't try talking to me again." She warned and began walking away.

"Hey! Wait a sec."  
Rogue turned around and was annoyed to see Pyro was walking around the table, and pushing past chairs.

"I want to talk to you for a second." He said when he was a bit closer.

"Really? Well, I don't want to talk to you." Rogue turned back around and practically ran back towards the stairs.

She swung around the corner and began walking down them. Looking back over at the food court she could see Pyro was trying to catch up to her.

She looked back ahead and ran straight into Kitty, who was going up the stairs.

"AH!" Kitty gave a small shriek of surprise. "There you are Rogue! We're ready to go home. We've been looking for you everywhere! Did you um... get what you forgot?"

Rogue looked back over her shoulder. John had disappeared from sight. She looked back at Kitty, and saw a few stairs down, Jubilee and Carol were waiting for them.

"Um... yah." Rogue said with a small smile, hoping it'd help the lie pass. "Well I mean, I went to go get it, but it was sold out."

"Oh well. Maybe next time." Kitty turned back around and they headed back down the stairs.

"What did you want to get anyways?" Carol asked. She had probably already come to the conclusion Rogue had lied and was trying to get her to confess.

"Oh you know... just something..." Rogue looked over at the nearest display case. "Hey! Look at that sweater! Isn't it adorable!" She ran over, and she couldn't help but grin when she saw the excited looks Kitty and Jubilee had on their faces. Clearly they thought it was the most gorgeous thing ever discovered.

Five minutes later they left the store and were on their way out of the mall and back to the car. Rogue was surprised she had actually bought something, because she usually didn't go for the whole shopping spree thing. Normally she bought a coffee then followed Kitty and Jubilee around everywhere.

At the thought of coffee, she remembered how she had spilled over half of hers onto John's lap.

It was then it clicked in her head. She had felt like she was being watched earlier because she was being watched. Rogue looked back over her shoulder, trying to find Pyro amongst the sea of people.

Suddenly Carol let out an odd laugh. "Geez Rogue! You keep looking over your shoulder every five minutes! Do you think someone's going to jump out and attack us?"

Kitty giggled. "Really Rogue. You look as though a fight is going to break out or something. What could happen? An ambush?"

Rogue could feel a vein throbbing in her forehead and her face turn red in anger and was about to lash out at Carol, but Jubilee beat her to it.

"Wouldn't be the first time, would it Katherine." The use of Kitty's real name showed how unpleased she was.

The four began the trek back to the car. "That attack on the school is something people like to call 'an ambush' and we never thought _that_ would happen! But it did. And look what happened!" Of course Jubilee would be upset by it. After all, she had been one of the captured mutants. "And Magneto's been quiet ever since Alkali Lake and everyone knows he's not particularly fond of humans. What's to say he won't attack?"

It kind of surprised Rogue to hear her friend speaking up on her behalf when she was usually so bubbly and not so... well serious. Rogue blinked a thanks to Jubilee, but Jubilee just kind of tossed her head to the side as though an indication they'd talk later.

They piled everything into the trunk of the car before Kitty and Carol got in the car first. Kitty claimed front seat and before Rogue could get in, Jubilee was already talking to her.

"You know what your problem is Rogue?" She sounded slightly impatient. "You're letting Carol and Kitty defy you all the time, and you don't seem to have a problem with being wrong. You need to work on building your confidence, and maybe when _that_ happens, Carol will stop teasing you."

Jubilee then slipped into the back seat and Rogue got in too. On the way back, Rogue wondered if Jubilee understood the full details of what was happening, or if she was just talking based on the few incidents performed in front of her. Rogue decided on the latter. Jubilee couldn't possibly have figured out the truth, though Rogue knew she had the intelligence to figure out, she just didn't realize it.

Rogue sighed silently to herself. She knew it was a matter of time before Jubilee finally found out what was happening, and even though she would side with Rogue, she'd be betrayed that Rogue never told her. Rogue also realized that Logan too was catching onto what was happening. The two of them combined would be deadly.

No, she'd have to tell the truth soon. Once she told them what was going on, everything would go back to the way they used to be.

The hard part would be admitting to them there was a problem to begin with. Then it would be even harder explaining what the problem was.

She looked up and saw Carol was glaring at her through the mirror. Rogue returned the glare. She knew Carol would beat her senseless if she ever got wind of what Rogue was planning.

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A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I wrote this chapter but didn't like it so went and deleted it then rewrote it and I'm pleased with how much better it turned out. I hope you guys found it a bit different from the other chapters. Bye! 


	9. The Announcement

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men**

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The Announcement

It was a few days later on Wednesday after Danger Room session Rogue was working on some homework in the back of the Recreation Room. Dinner would be in about a half hour, and she wanted to have her science finished off before dinner. Then all she'd have left was a little math. 

The television was blaring in the background, but Rogue wasn't paying attention to it until one of the younger students yelled. "What?! They can't do that!"

"Do what?" Bobby asked. Him and Jubilee were currently doing their homework with Rogue, and clearly they hadn't been focusing on the TV either.

"That!" The boy pointed at the television again. "Saying we're a disease that needs to be treated!"

Bobby and Rogue shared looks and one of the younger girls let out a whimper. "We're not going to die, are we?"

"Of course not." Jubilee said in a calm, soothing voice. "We're not a disease."

"What's this about being treated?" Bobby asked.

The boy pointed to the screen, a silent message they should watch. On the screen, a man looking to be in his fifties was currently talking, holding a small vile in his hand. He was talking on a podium and as he spoke, Rogue began to understand.

"A cure!" She blurted out and Bobby and Jubilee just blinked at her. Rogue sighed, sounding impatient. "It's a cure! Or at least, that what he means it to be."

"A cure to our mutation?" Jubilee sounded disgusted.

"Something to suppress the mutant X-Gene." Bobby repeated the man on the screen, who was soon identified as Mr. Worthington when one of the reporters in the crowd below fired a question at him.

"You mean to get rid of our mutation?" Jubilee sounded surprised and disgusted. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Yah I know." Bobby glared at Mr. Worthington's look of triumph. "Who does he think he is going on like that? He'll cause a war! Idiot, Magneto's probably watching this right now and planning the best way to kill of him and all his stupid workers."

Rogue however was no longer listening. She had zoned out right after Bobby had said 'suppress the mutant X-Gene.' _Oh my God! I'll be able to touch! _Rogue thought excitedly then shook her head and growled. _No! If there's a war, then the X-Men will need me now more than ever. I can't abandon them. _

"What do you think?" Jubilee asked, turning to face Rogue. 

Rogue tapped her fingers on the table and stood up. "I think we need to tell the adults." She left the room, and soon Bobby and Jubilee were following her.

----------------------------------------------

"WHAT?!" Kitty screamed. Peter's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything.

Logan and Scott shared looks that reflected each others shock. Carol's eyes widened but they went back to regular size half a second later. Xavier was the only one to remain with a calm expression.

Storm just gaped at them. "They can't do that!" She said, sounding like the boy who had had the outburst earlier.

"Well, they've already done it." An unfamiliar voice spoke from the entrance of the Professor's doorway.

Everyone turned to see a furry blue man standing in the doorway. He was pretty big, and his eyes were of the deepest blue. Storm seemed to recognize him as she stepped forward and hugged him.

Rogue looked around at Kitty and Jubilee to see them looking on, completely lost. Looking a little further she saw Peter and Bobby mouthing questions to each other. Xavier and Scott seemed to be the only ones that recognized him.

"Hank!" Storm exclaimed, pulling out of the hug. "It's been so long! What have you been up to?"

Hank shrugged and turned to Xavier. "Professor, they've been trying to develop a cure for a couple of months now, but only recently found a way to do so. They're using the mutation of a mutant who has the ability to suppress the mutant X-Gene... forever."

"So once you take it, you're powers will never return." Bobby asked, eyes growing wider and wider.

Hank nodded. "Yes, that is the idea." He turned back to Xavier. "I tried to get here before the announcement so I could tell you myself but-"

Xavier shook his head. "It's alright. There's nothing that could be done about it anyways."

Logan than gave a rather clear cough and Xavier smiled. "Hank, might I introduce some members of the X-Men team you might not be familiar with? Logan, Kitty, Jubilee, Peter, Bobby, Carol and Rogue."

Rogue couldn't help but feel as though the Professor had hesitated half a second before introducing her. Rogue soon scolded herself for being so paranoid and shook Hank's hand like everyone else.

Rogue noticed how his hands darted down to her hand when he felt the material of her glove and then look back at her curiously, but she was used to it. Everyone did it to her, so it wasn't surprising.

Xavier nodded again. "Further introductions can be done later. For now, I'd like to talk to Hank alone for the time being."

One by one everyone inside the office left, with the exception of Storm, who looked like she wanted to say something more before leaving.

Rogue's stomach growled and she decided to head downstairs for a snack before finishing off the rest of her homework and going to bed.

She turned the corner that would lead her to the main staircase and saw Carol making her way down the hall. Rogue stopped dead and had the urge to jump back behind the wall and pray to God Carol hadn't seen her. Rogue brushed this aside and continued walking as calmly as ever. _No! _She said firmly to herself. _I was here first and I have as much right to walk wherever I want!_

Carol seemed far off in thoughts and didn't seem to notice Rogue until they were walking past each other.

"Hello." Carol said in a rather friendly tone, as thought not noticing who it was.

Rogue didn't say anything, but walked a littler faster, hoping to get away before Carol realized who it was.

Too bad, that a second later Carol looked up and turned around. "Oh, it's you." She sneered. "I thought you were somebody important, like Storm or the Professor."

Rogue turned around to look at Carol and couldn't help scoffing. "Yah, too bad I won't be a teacher for another three months. Then I'll be important, though I'm not sure where you'll be." Rogue didn't know where the words were coming from.

"Excuse me?" Carol asked in a deadly tone.

"Yah, you're right. You'll probably still be a bitch." Rogue said smirking. Inside she was beating herself up for provoking Carol. _Shit! _

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Carol hissed, a glint in her eyes. 

Rogue snorted. "Yah, whatever. Save your breath for someone who cares."

Rogue tried to force herself to move away from Carol before she got the chance to attack but couldn't.

Carol drew herself up, but before she could make a move, Rogue had ripped off her gloves. "Yah, come attack me!" Rogue taunted. "Lay a finger on me and I'll absorb you. And not to mention I'll be telling Storm and the other what you've been doing to me!"

Carol eye's flickered with panic, but it was soon gone as she seemed to be looking at something behind Rogue that amused her. Then she spoke in a conniving tone. "You can't tell them anything if you're dead."

Rogue felt her smirk falter. "What?"

Rogue hadn't even finished the question before Carol was in front of her. At which point, Carol shot out a both hands, and pushed in the chest.

Before Rogue knew what was happening, she was tumbling down two flights of stairs. With a loud 'thud' she reached the bottom. She groaned and her whole body ached with pain as she tried to stand up.

Rogue wasn't even standing halfway up when Carol grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and flying her back up the stairs.

It was then Rogue had enough sense to scream, hoping Logan, or Jubilee or Bobby or someone was close enough to hear. At the same time she reached up a hand to grab Carol's bare wrist.

She must have surprised Carol, because she was only about three quarters up the stairs when Carol dropped her again, without having been touched.

This time Rogue landed on the stairs on her side, and could have sworn she heard a crack before her head hit the stairs full force and she blacked out.

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A/N: Don't hurt me! I PROMISE, in like... a few chapters there will be a major ass whipping for the not so poor Carol. Trust me, I'm not trying to drag this out or anything, I just need to get a few more things done and then Rogue's going to go a little crazy. Okay, well I'd probably get pissed if someone was picking on me for no reason. Oh and by the way, there is a reason, I just haven't said what it is yet. Tehehe. Later!


	10. Quite the Lie

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.**

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Quite The Lie

"You gave us all quite the scare kid." 

Rogue was aware of someone talking to her. She recognized the voice of Logan without opening her eyes.

Even so, she opened them, blinking a few times as a bright white light as she stared up at the light on the ceiling. Once her eyes adjusted, her eyes took in the surrounding walls and recognized the whiteness of the medical wing.

Her whole body ached as she turned her head to the side to see Logan standing in the doorway. Beside him was Jubilee. A little closer to Rogue, was the blue guy Hank.

Hank turned to look at her and grinned slightly. "So you're little Miss Rogue?"

Rogue began to sit up slowly, hissing in pain as her sides screamed with pain, as did the rest of her body.

Hank's eyes widened as he rushed forward to push her back down lightly. "I wouldn't be doing that right now."

"Why not?!" Rogue snapped, knowing very well everyone could see the fire in her eyes. _I'm going to kill Carol! _She screamed in her head.

Just to defy Hank and everyone else, she pushed his arm away and sat upright, legs swinging over the edge of the table. "I'm fine!" She snapped.

Hank blinked. "That would be impressive if it weren't for the fact I already did a scan on you and know you aren't going anywhere that's out of my sight until you've made a full recovery." He picked up a clipboard and slipped on a pair of glasses. "Let's see, you have a mild concussion, broken ribs and countless numbers of bruises and cuts." He pulled his glasses off and set his clipboard down. "Lucky for you, Carol was there."

Rogue blinked and the fire in her eyes returned. "Excuse me?" She asked in a low, menacing voice.

Hank either didn't notice or ignored the anger in her voice. "Carol caught you halfway down the stairs, and in doing so, probably saved your life. She said you tripped down the stairs."

_That dirty little bi-_ Rogue's thoughts were cut off.

"So perhaps for the time being you rest here. I know you probably want to find her and thank her, but I implore you not to go running off."

_Yah. Running off on a murder streak with only one target! _

"Maybe tomorrow we can get her down here to visit you." Hank finished. 

A question popped into Rogue's head. "How long have I been out for?"

"About a day and a half." Logan was the one that answered, coming fully into the room.

Jubilee kind of pushed past him and grabbed Rogue into a tight bear hug. "Rogue! You scared me and Kitty so much. When Carol first told us she made it sound like you were dying!"

Rogue couldn't help the look of distain that crawled over her face. _Of course she would. Anything to make her look like a big hero. _"Bitch!" Rogue couldn't help but spit out in anger, glaring at the floor.

Jubilee pulled Rogue back and her, Hank and Logan stared at Rogue with wide, confused eyes.  
Rogue looked up and saw them looking at her in confusion. "What?!" She snapped, not at all sounding happy.

"What do you mean what?" Logan asked. "You just said bi-"

"Mr. Logan I will not tolerate that language." Hank said in an authoritative tone. "And I will not tolerate it coming from my patient's mouth either." He said giving Rogue a stern look.

Jubilee's eyes suddenly popped out of her head. "Oh... My...God..."

Rogue looked at Logan and Hank. "Can you leave us alone for a second?" She asked.

The second the door snapped shut, Jubilee was practically on top of Rogue, shaking her like crazy. "Why-didn't-you-say-something?!" She hissed out, shaking Rogue harder, seething.

"Jubilee stop!" Rogue said then let out a shriek of pain. "My ribs are broken you idiot!" She screamed.

Jubilee jumped back.

"Fuck! You're almost as bad as Carol!" The words were out of Rogue's mouth before she realized what she was saying. She clamped a hand over her mouth, but the damage was done.

"I...knew...it..." Jubilee seethed, a fire Rogue had never seen before in her eyes. "Carol's been hurting you and you never said anything?! What's wrong with you?!"

"Nothing Jubilee!" She said, feeling the need to defend herself. "I thought I could handle it-"

Jubilee cut her off and scoffed. "Yah, handle yourself against an invulnerable woman. Tah! I don't think so!"

"Look Jubilee, it's not that big of a deal, okay? She just said some kind of mean things-"

"Punished you for coughing, push you down some stairs." Jubilee was ticking them off her fingers as though they were having a regular conversation. "What else? Oh yah! Pushed a few times, when you LIED and told me all you did was fall while talking to Bobby!" Her face was red in anger.

"I don't need this!" Rogue yelled. "I don't need you yelling and lecturing me! I've been fine up until now, obviously it's not that big of a deal."

"Yah, Rogue, but now it _is_ a big deal." Jubilee said, and Rogue was shocked to hear it being said in a scared tone. "She tried to kill you the other day."

"Who says she was trying to kill me?" Rogue asked, though she was surprised Jubilee had figured it out.

"Pushing someone down a flight of stairs can cause severe injury. I mean, we're talking two flights of stairs. And notice you haven't defied me yet." She sighed and hopped onto the table next to Rogue. "At least tell me how long this has been happening."

Rogue sighed too. "Since day one, though back then it was just insults." She then spoke quietly. "Don't tell anyone yet Jubilee."

"Why not?" Jubilee asked sharply.

"Because I asked you to and you're my best friend." She sighed "Look, it's fine. I'm taking care of it. I plan on talking to her and sorting this whole mess out." She looked back at Jubilee.

Jubilee hesitated before replying. "Okay, I won't say a word... for now. But Rogue, it's scary when she tries to do things like this and you almost die." She paused. "She ever does anything again, I'm going straight to Logan. You know he suspects it as much as I do and he won't try to prove me wrong. He'll believe me in a heartbeat and see Carol's thrown out the front door on her butt."

This image caused Rogue to grin slightly. After a few seconds it fell and both girls sighed.

Their was a knock and Hank appeared. "Is it safe to come back and treat my patient?"

"Oh, yah!" Jubilee hopped off the table.

"Good." Hank smiled.

Rogue grabbed Jubilee's wrist and pulled her back, whispering so Hank wouldn't hear. "Did Bobby come see me?" She asked.

Jubilee's eyes glowed with sympathy and she shook her head. "No." Her eyes then turned to anger. "Carol was feeling terrible about the fact you nearly died and she didn't rescue you in time. He was comforting her."

Rogue's hand dropped and she let go of Jubilee, who then turned and walked out.

Hank turned back around with a needle in his hand, obviously with the intent to draw some blood for examining, though why he didn't just do it while she was still out of it beat her. However, before he could move in her direction, Logan had pushed past him and was touching Rogue's face.

"He said to wait until you woke up before I loaned you my powers." He said in an amused voice. When his knees shook he finally let go, stumbling a bit.

Hank grabbed him by the arm and led him to a chair.

Rogue felt the power course through her and felt the pain in her ribs disappear. She hopped off the table when she saw Hank approaching her with a needle.

"I'm fine, thanks, bye!" She said hastily and sped out of the room.

Hank stood dumbfounded for a minute, needle in his frozen hand.

Logan explained. "I'm deathly terrified of needles."

"I see. So she absorbed your fear?"

"Yup." _And my concerns. _Logan thought, hearing her footsteps rush up the nearest staircase.

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A/N: Kind of a weird chapter... but we are THAT much closer to Rogue kicking Carol bitchy little ass... oops, did I say that out loud? -gives fake innocent smile- Ah, who cares, everyone reading this hates her anyways. So yah... next chapter will come... soonish. I've started it but it's not done yet. Review and until then... Byee!! 


	11. Back Away

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men

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Back Away

"Bobby!" Rogue called the next day when she saw her boyfriend coming around the corner, and much to her disgust, Carol was with him. 

Bobby looked surprised when he saw her and ran up to her, hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad to see you're okay."

"Yah, Logan loaned me some of his powers. Um..." Rogue looked over his shoulder at Carol. "Can we talk in private for a minute?" She asked.

Bobby looked over at Carol and nodded.

Carol shrugged. "Catch you guys later." She waved lazily and walked away.

"Bobby... How come you never came to visit me in the medical wing?" Rogue asked, as they walked down the hall in the opposite direction.

Bobby looked at her surprised. "Well, you wouldn't know if I was there or not anyways. Plus Carol was depressed because she felt like it was her fault you were injured so badly."

_Maybe because it **was **her fault. _"Logan and Jubilee visited me." She pointed out.

"I know, but I felt really bad for Carol and-... How did you know Jubilee and Logan visited you?"

Rogue blinked. "What do you think. Jubilee told me. They were there when I woke up." _And you should have been too, if you love me like you say you do and supposed to be my boyfriend. _

"Okay, I'm sorry. Just, I thought Carol's needs were greater than yours." 

Rogue felt like she had been slapped in the face. "Needs?"

"Well... not needs..." Bobby seemed to be making things worse. "She was really upset and-"

"And I was dying. Thanks Bobby." Rogue said sarcastically. She turned and began to storm away.

"Hang on a second. Rogue!"

Rogue felt her heart pounding in her ribs as she hurried away from Bobby. From the sound of his footsteps, he was following her.

"Leave me alone Bobby!" She yelled over her shoulder and took off at a run.

Still, he ran after her. Clearly he wasn't about to let her go so easily.

She pushed open her bedroom door, but before she could close it, Bobby stuck his foot in the doorway.

"Rogue! Hear me out for two seconds would you?" He asked in exasperation.

"No. I want you to leave me alone! Back the fuck away!" She screeched and slammed her upper body into the door, forcing Bobby to remove his foot and the door snapped shut and locked with a 'click'.

She could hear Bobby pounding on the door in a slow rhythmic way, as though he was hitting the door with his head.

_I need to get away for a bit. _Rogue thought as she snatched her purse and wrote a hasty note to Jubilee. _Be back tonight. Needed to get out for a bit. _

The sole purpose of the note was so Jubilee wouldn't freak out when she couldn't find her. 

She flung her bedroom window open and grabbing the vines stuck to the wall, she climbed down, for the first time in her life being thankful for extra Danger Room.

Rogue touched the ground and walked around the side of the Institute until she reached the garage. She hopped in the car she had been in last week when she went to the mall and drove away from the Institute, not at all sure where she was going.

She drove and drove, until she parked the car. She got out and saw with surprise she had come back to the mall.

Shaking her head she went inside, and headed up to the food court, wondering for the slightest moment if there was a chance John was here again.

She growled at the thought of hoping to see him. She was an X-Men and he was with Magneto. There was no way they could be friends again. Not after what he did to her. Still, she couldn't help the small feeling of hope fluttering in her chest.

She reached the food court, and to her amazement, she felt disappointed she didn't see him. She sunk into a chair at the nearest table and let her mind wander.

Throughout the mall she could hear a song playing. She recognized the song, because it was the kind of thing Jubilee listened to about five times a day, but Rogue hated it.

Rogue let out a small growl, not noticing she was alone at her table. "I hate Carol." She muttered to herself.

"Carol? Who's Carol?"

Rogue's eyes snapped up. "John? Pyro! Didn't I tell you never to speak to me again?!" She asked irritably.

"Well, you said not to try. I'm not trying though, I'm doing." Pyro said, in a matter of fact tone. "So technically-"

"Yah, shut up." Rogue said, not even wanting Pyro to finish his thought. "Go away, you're just pestering me."

"I just saw you sitting here all by yourself, and I thought you could use some company. Can't be mad at me for trying to be nice." Pyro said, a fake hurt written all over his face.

"Actually I can. And you're not being nice. You're pissing me off." Rogue told him. "Please, do me a favour and leave me alone."

John now looked genuinely hurt. "Why would I do that?" He asked, his face getting mixed with puzzlement.

"Because I asked you to." Rogue said flatly. At John's look she sighed. "Because I know I can never forgive you for what you did."

John gave her a blank look. "What did I do?"

"Oh please!" Rogue snorted, looking away in anger. She tried to calm herself before turning back and answering. "You ditched the X-Men to join Magneto. You know what he did to me and you still went with him! You left the team! You left your best friend Bobby! You left me! Now you show up like everything's fine." She looked away, feeling the familiar swell of emotions she had felt the day he left. Anger at his departure. Betrayal he left with Magneto. And sadness at Jean and his loss.

"What would make everything fine?" John asked after thinking what he had just learned over in his head.

Rogue blinked a few times. "I don't know. Maybe if you knew how I had felt when you left..."

"So what did you feel?" John asked in tone that suggested he genuinely wanted to know.

Rogue had to stop and think about this for a minute. "Lots of things. First I was shocked you were going against direct orders to go inside, just because you felt the need to prove yourself, though we all new you were tough John so I didn't understand."

"I was fed up with the way they were treating us, like we were little kids or-" Rogue cut him off as though he hadn't said anything.

"Than I panicked when the dam broke and we were trying to leave without you. Than imagine my surprise when the Professor tells you're with Magneto. Than I felt betrayed you were going with the enemy after I told you what he did to me, and how he taunted me on the X-Jet. John, I told you more details about what happened rather than Bobby, who was and is my boyfriend, because I knew Bobby would only pity me, rather than you who was _supposed_ to be understanding."

"I _was_ understanding-" John was cut off again.

"Clearly not if you still went away with him. Oh, and let's not forget how upset I was afterwards at the loss of Jean and you. You who just left us without so much as a good-bye." Rogue exhaled slowly. "Maybe once you come to terms with all that, we can talk."

She went to stand up, but he placed on hers. "Wait. I haven't said my bit yet. Now I want _you_ to understand how I felt."

Rogue sat back down at looked at him with narrowed eyes as she listened to what he had to say.

"First there was you and Bobby. You guys were always together so it was hard to be with just one of you at a time. When it was the three of us together, I always felt left out, like I was a third wheel and just along for the ride. Plus, I felt like the Professor and other adults were holding me back and I wasn't moving forward. When I met Magneto, he told me of my potential and well... I knew if I went with him, nothing would restrain me. So when he offered me the choice... I knew it would come down to how much freedom I got. I'm sorry but I took freedom over being the third wheel." He finished, leaning back in his chair, looking at peace with his decision.

Rogue blinked a few times before she let hurt creep over her face. "That's how you felt? Like you were nothing but a third wheel? Well let me tell you something. You were my best friend too. I held you at a higher regard then Jubilee and Kitty. Sure I like them fine for girl time, but you meant more to me than them. Given the choice, I would have picked you."

"But there was still Bobby. You weren't with them girls you were with him." John scoffed.

Unconsciously, Rogue's eyes narrowed and she said in a scathing tone. "Right. Bobby."

This seemed to surprise John. "Aren't you still going out with him?"

Rogue snorted. "Not for long."

At John's questioning look she sighed. "Let's say he's not the same. He's not there for me anymore and he spends less time with me. At the rate we're going at, we won't make it to the summer."

"Oh well... I'm sorry." John sounded far from sorry, but Rogue was too distracted to notice.

Bobby seemed to taken with Carol to notice that her life seemed to spiralling downhill and that she had to watch her step day in and day out, otherwise she would find herself dead at the hand of Carol. At that thought, she wondered if Jubilee was really going to keep her promise of keeping quiet. Rogue wanted to wait for the perfect opportunity. If she walked right into the mansion and screamed Carol was a murderer, everyone would think she was a raving lunatic. But if Carol was to hit her in the presence of say, Logan, Carol would be kicked out of the mansion before she could even open her mouth to protest.

Rogue shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, there's this new girl, and she goes bouncing around as though trying to show she's better then me or something."

"What, does she hate you?" John asked.

Rogue sighed and shrugged again. "Yah."

"What?! How does anyone hate you?!" John sounded more surprised at this then when she told him her and Bobby were falling apart.

"I don't know! She just does. Goes around pushing me around like she's more important then me. It's like, I don't know, she knew who I was from somewhere else and hated me, but I've gone over it again and again in my head and I've never met her before." Rogue said, admitting this out loud for the first time.

"Hey, you didn't have enemies before you came to Xavier's did you? I mean, you don't think she knows someone who hated you and she's promised to seek revenge or something?" John asked.

This made Rogue stop dead. "I don't remember. Nothing that sticks out in my head. I mean, the only real enemy I can think I have is Magneto. Maybe Sabretooth but he'd go after Logan before me and he's dead."

"What if he's not dead and he knows you and Logan are close and therefore sent this Carol out to get you which would no doubt be a low blow to Logan." John suggested.

Rogue froze as she took this in but shook her head. "No, Sabretooth would come right out and do it himself. He'd want Logan to know I'm hurting, and plus he'd go back to Magneto, wouldn't he, and he hasn't shown up as he?"

John shook his head then raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Logan doesn't know? I thought you'd have at least told him."

Rogue shook her head slowly as though ashamed. "No, only Jubilee does."

John's jaw fell open. "Rogue, I never thought I'd say this to you of all people but how _stupid are you_? This Carol obviously means business and you're keeping quiet! God, at least tell the Professor!"

"I would but I'm waiting for the right time. I mean, if I just barge into his office one day, he'll think I've lost it."

"Well don't wait forever." He suddenly glanced down at his watch. "Listen, I have to... I have to go. I'm sorry. Come back on Saturday, and you can tell me the rest." He got up. "See you then! Bye!" He soon disappeared down the nearest flight of stairs.

Rogue sat frozen in her chair. He'd left before she had even told him if she actually planned on meeting him or not.

Though she knew as she stood up and grabbed her purse off the floor and began walking towards the staircase, she would have agreed in a heartbeat.

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A/N: I'm soooooo freaking sorry it took so freaking long to get the next chapter posted. Basically Rogers cut us of from the Internet for a weak because they detected a virus which no virus scan pick up, and it would harm their systems in ways they didn't even know! The worst part is we had to pay for our week in which we had no Internet! In other words they're assholes! So, I'm back. Was in a foul mood, but I'm fine now cause I went to the Fall Out Boy concert last night and it kicked ass! So, now I'm back, I'm sorry Rogers is gayly retarded, and I'll post the next chapter when I finish typing it... and I get reviews : D Byeee for now! 


	12. Bid My Time

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men**

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Bid My Time

A week before, Rogue would have never thought the next month of her life would be so enjoyable. 

Every Saturday for the next month after her meeting with John, she had met him. Depending on how busy her schedule was, she was able to see him on Sunday and Friday. Around the middle of the month she had spent all three days with him. The purpose of these meetings was the fact Rogue was able to tell him all about her problems about Carol without being looked at like she was crazy. She was able to tell him everything and then call her all the names she wanted, which caused John to laugh, as he never thought she would say so many colourful words.

Nobody at the Institute found this suspicious in the least because they all just thought she was becoming more like her roommate Jubilee, whom everyone knew loved the mall like her second home.

The best part though, was how Carol was acting. She seemed to realize ever since her attempted murder on Rogue, that the smallest thing would cause Rogue to go straight to Logan, so she did her best to avoid Rogue, though whenever they found themselves together in an empty hallway, she would always give a rude comment, just to show she still hated Rogue, which didn't disturb Rogue in the least.

Everyone seemed to notice the depressing and quiet turn of Rogue's attitude. Ever since Carol showed up, Rogue had been sulking around. Now she practically skipped down the hall, grinning cheerfully.

A month ago, Rogue's life seemed to caught in a black hole, and now she felt happier than she had in a long time.

"Rogue, did you get the answer to number eleven?" Jubilee asked, struggling with the homework they had been assigned by Storm.

Rogue grinned and tossed her notebook onto Jubilee's bed right in front of her friend. "Yes I did. I'm done now. If anyone asks, I've gone to the mall."

"Big surprise." Jubilee smirked. "I'm so glad I'm rubbing off on you. Hey, wait! If you wait an hour, I can come with you." She grinned.

Rogue's brain whirred around for a split second. "Sorry, but I wanted to go before dinner. If I wait for you to finish, I'll only get twenty minutes." Jubilee's grin fell slowly. "But after dinner we can go back?" She suggested.

Jubilee instantly brightened up. "Yah, sure! See you at dinner then!"

Rogue left the room and went to the garage. Ten minutes later she was entering the mall. By the time she reached the food court, she saw John was already there.

He smirked when he saw her approaching. "You're late."

"I was doing homework." Rogue sat down. "If I left right after classes, people would get suspicious, you know that."

John shrugged. "Well, I guess that's true. Anyways, anything significant happen this week?" He asked.

"No, not really." Rogue grinned. "The most exciting thing was probably when Jubilee asked me if she could come to the mall with me." She laughed. "Oh yah, so make sure you're gone by six because I'm coming back with Jubilee."

John chuckled. "Yah okay. I'll just leave when you do." He grinned. "But I was talking about Carol before."

Rogue shook her head. "Nah. Three weeks ago she stopped giving me detentions and two weeks ago she stopped asking me such difficult questions in class. I hardly see her. I mean, obviously in Danger Room and when I have her classes, but she doesn't dare do anything to me there. And in the halls, she's worried someone will turn up so the most she does is just say something like 'I'm a thieving slut' or 'A crazy Vampire.'" Rogue snorted. "Really, _I'm_ the slut? Honestly..." She grinned. "So how was your week?"

John shook his head and shrugged. "Same old, same old. We continue to plot and train for things we most definitely won't do." He grinned.

"What kind of things are you plotting?" Rogue asked.

John raised a hand and shook his finger at her. "Ah, ah, ah, Rogue." He said in a 'tsking' manner. "I can't just give you inside information on what we're doing, can I?"

Rogue pouted slightly. "Come on. You know I won't tell anyone." She said in a cute, innocent tone. "Please?"

John sighed and rolled his eyes around. Rogue kept herself from grinning in victory. "Magneto's really pissed off about the cure." John finally said.

"Yah, I figured as much." Rogue said with a sigh.

John beckoned Rogue forward as he leaned over the table. Rogue leaned over until their faces were centimetres apart.

"He's planning to go to war with the humans." He whispered then leaned back.

Rogue sat forward on her seat, leaning over the table in shock for a minute. "What? When? Where?"

John shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. But he keeps talking about it. He's always with someone or other discussing battle strategies. I don't know when it's going to happen, but trust me, it will happen soon." He paused. "Make sure you're ready when it comes." He said quietly.

Rogue nodded slowly, still trying to take this in. "I have to tell the Professor." She said without thinking.

"No! You can't!" John said fiercely.

Rogue whipped her head around to look at him, and saw his eye alight with fire. Rogue was almost afraid to admit it, but he looked scary. However, the look was soon gone and John was speaking again.

"Think for a minute. This won't look good on either of us you know. First off if you tell the X-Men, don't you think they'll want to know how you found out? And theirs no such thing as a decent lie when you live in the same building as the most powerful telepath in the World." John smirked, and continued speaking, his face becoming more and more serious as he spoke. "Besides, let's say for a minute, they believe you and you come up with a lie and they don't do a scan on your mind, Magneto's going to wonder how you guys could possibly know about our plans. Then he'll know one of us betrayed The Brotherhood, and most likely he'll accuse me first because I mean, everyone knows I-" He cut himself off, looking confused, cheeks glowing a light pink.

"Everyone knows what?" Rogue asked, clearly trying to get more information out of him. "What about you?"

John shook his head smirking, the faint pink tint in his cheeks long gone. "Nothing. Just trust me, don't go blabbing what I told you. That's top secret." He winked. "Or at least it was."

Rogue sighed and sunk back in her seat, but smiled faintly. "Okay, okay, I won't say a word."

John winked. "Okay good." He glanced down at his watch. "Well, just about time for you to be heading home. I mean, if you want to be home for dinner on time."

Rogue sighed, standing. "Yah, I know. Thanks a lot John." She smiled at him.

"Before you go..." He trailed off. "Are you sure everything with Carol is fine? I mean, you know she's got to be planning something deadly." He said slowly, as though choosing his words carefully. "It's like the calm before the storm. She's bidding her time before she makes another move at you. I'm willing to stake my life on it."

Rogue let out the small grunt of frustration she always made whenever the topic of Carol came up. "Don't worry about it John. Things are fine now. I'm bidding my time too, you know. If she dares attack me again, I'll go straight to Logan about it."

"Rogue, this has never come up before, but what if she manages to convince everyone _you're_ the liar? What will you do then?" John asked. "She means business and I bet she'll be willing to do anything to see you lose all your friends."

"If that happens... I don't know." Rogue sighed. "I guess it'll be back to the streets. Hitchhiking my way across the country."

John tried not to look to hopeful as he spoke, and cleared his throat. "You know... if anything... um... happens, you can always come with me." He paused. "To The Brotherhood I mean. We'll look after you there. I'll look after you." He added the last bit in quickly as though embarrassed at his sudden kindness.

Rogue stopped to think about it. "I don't know. I mean, Magneto tried to kill me, remember?"

"I'll look after you. I promise." John repeated.

She brushed some hair out of her face and behind her ear. "I'd have to think about it." Something about what he said was ringing a bell in the back of her head. Back on the train, Logan had promised to watch out for her, and somehow hearing John making the same promise made Logan's seem so long ago. Like her need for protection from him was broken and now her guardian was to be John.

He brought her out of her thoughts. "Well the option will always be available if you ever change your mind." He stood up grinning, then it half fell. "By the way, I can't see you tomorrow." He looked away for a split second. "Magneto's planned a meeting and I can't exactly get out of it. But Sunday?" He said.

Rogue nodded. "Sunday." She confirmed. "So, I guess I'll see you then."

John moved forward slowly, walking around the table until he was right in front of her. "Take care of yourself Rogue." He stepped forward and hugged her.

She hugged him back slowly, the gesture feeling foreign. Not so much the hug, but more the fact it was coming from John of all people. "Only if you do." She laughed.

"See you on Sunday Rogue." John walked away.

"Talk to you then." She turned and walked in the opposite direction, an odd feeling filling her chest. Almost as if it was soaring. She sneaked a peek of John again over her shoulder and just saw his hair disappearing down the staircase.

She felt a new feeling overwhelm her. Like something bad was going to happen. Though she didn't know if was going to happen to her or John.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Those damn homo sapiens think they know everything. They have filled their guns with the cure." Magneto tossed the gun onto the table as proof.

It landed next to the woman known as Callisto, who opened it to check. When she slammed it back on the table, it confirmed what Magneto had said.

"That is why we must take action!" He said.

_Yes, but we already knew that didn't we? _John thought, lowering his hand underneath the table and sinking a bit in his seat so his hand was inches from the ground. He began opening and closing his fist as fire would burst from his palm, then disappear just as quickly as it appeared.

Magneto continued talking, John only half listening to what he was saying. He'd heard the same speech so many times he could practically predict what was going to be said next.

A mutant with red eyes that was sitting across from Pyro threw a small piece of paper at Pyro. When Magneto turned to address someone, Pyro snatched the piece of paper, realizing it was a playing card with a message scrawled across it.

_'Mon Dieu! Does he always ramble like this?!' _

Pyro smirked and had to hold in a chuckle. He made eye contact with the mutant known as Gambit and gave a small nod. 

Gambit's jaw opened it horror and he looked as if he would very much have liked to have been shot on the spot.

John adverted his attention back to Magneto. "So I have already set forth plan A."

John's eyes widened. "Plan A?!" He said, unable to contain himself. "You never told us about Plan A! Hell, you didn't say you even put one in motion!"

"Well, yes, but it would have been disastrous if it got out, but at any rate, it doesn't matter. The Plan is still in motion, but we've finally decided to tell you about it." He paused and the doors to the room opened. "Ah yes, right on time."

John's eyes widened. He'd never seen her before, but he recognized her in a heartbeat. Nobody else had such wavy blonde hair, and cold blue eyes that could pierce the soul...

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A/N: Dun Dun Dunnnn. I have a good idea of what the questions running through your head are and I'm not going to answer them. You'll just have to read and review to find them out yourselves. HA HA HA! I'm so evil. Yay me! 


	13. Watch My Back

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. The song is 'The Potential Break Up Song' by Aly & AJ... I'm not sure why but I wanted to throw the song in.**

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Watch My Back

"Where's Carol?" Rogue asked, walking into the kitchen. It was twelve o'clock on the dot on Saturday. Lunch was ready, but it kind of surprised Rogue that Carol was nowhere to be seen. 

Jubilee shrugged. "I don't know, but what does it matter? She's not here to bother you, so you can pretty much do whatever you like." Jubilee beamed as she grabbed some sandwiches off the table which were quickly disappearing between Logan and Peter.

"Yah, I was just wondering if anyone knew when she was getting back. Then I'd know how much more freedom I have." Rogue joked as she yanked a sandwich right out of Logan's hand. "My favourite." She said as he looked at her.

He grinned as if he found this quite humorous before reaching back across the table to get another one.

"Ah, who cares." Jubilee said between mouthfuls. "It doesn't matter. She probably went to the mall, which means she'll probably be gone until dinner. In which case nobody will worry if she's late or not." She shoved the last bit in her mouth.

Rogue shrugged and ate her sandwich in silence.

The door to the kitchen opened and Bobby walked in. His eyes locked with Rogue's for less then half a second before he turned and left again.

Rogue was not at all surprised by this. Ever since her accusations of him caring more about Carol, they hadn't been able to stay in the same room for more then a second. They were still a couple, because they were both afraid to break it off, and Rogue knew that they were both hoping things would patch themselves up after a bit of time.

"You going to the mall?" Jubilee broke Rogue out of her musings.

"Nah, not today." Rogue said with a small shake of her head.

"Why not?" Jubilee asked. "I thought you loved getting every spare moment you could to go there."

"Yah, well that was before I got assigned a thousand word essay about the different chemical reactions." Rogue said. It was true. Everyone had been assigned an essay due on Monday, but what Jubilee didn't know was she had already finished.

"Oh crap, I forgot about that." Jubilee snapped her fingers in annoyance. "Guess I'll be staying home today as well. It sucks, I don't get it and Carol's not here to ask for help."

Rogue sighed. "I'm almost done." She lied. "I'll help once I finish, okay?"

Jubilee nodded, clearly relieved she wouldn't be abandoned on the dreaded chemical essay.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jubilee had been right. Carol did come back about ten minutes before dinner, her hands full of many shopping bags.

She seemed to be in her usual giddy mood as over dinner she talked non-stop about the many deals at the stores she shopped at, then stopped talking only after she had Kitty begging Carol to take her shopping tomorrow.

It took too long  
It took too long  
It took too long for you to call back  
And normally I would just forget that  
Except for the fact it was my birthday  
My stupid birthday

Poor Jubilee, who looked ready to burst when she heard of the 'get a pair of shoes free after buying one pair of shoes' at her favourite store, couldn't go tomorrow. She had only managed to complete half her essay, though Rogue would never have said out loud, it was amazing Jubilee had even managed to get that much completed.

I played along  
I played along  
I played along  
Rolled right off my back  
But obviously my armour was cracked  
What kind of a boyfriend would forget that?  
Who would forget that?

Rogue didn't allow herself to dwell on these matters for very long. Saturday night was planned to be an uneventful evening. No Danger Room was scheduled and Kitty and Jubilee were in the Recreation Room trying to finish off their homework in hopes they would be able to both go to the mall with Carol.

The type of guy who doesn't see  
What he has until she leaves  
Don't let me go  
Cause without me you know you're lost  
Wise up now or pay the cost  
Soon you will know

Storm, Logan, Hank, and Scott were in the Professor's office talking about God knew what.

Peter was off giving a tour of the Institute to a new arrival that went by the name Warren Worthington. The name had rung a bell and was surprised when Warren had come right out and confirmed he was the son of the man who had developed the cure.

As for Bobby and Carol, Rogue had no idea where or what they were doing, but honestly Rogue could care less. Carol would only cause Rogue unneeded stress she didn't want, but she kind of did want to talk to Bobby. She had had a long time to think and she was finally ready to talk things through with him and hopefully rekindle their romance somewhat.

You're not living  
Till you're living, living with me  
You're not winning  
Till you're winning, winning me  
You're not getting  
Till you're getting, getting me  
You're not living 'til you're living, living for me

Rogue laid on her bed, counting the tiles on the ceiling, bored out of her mind as she listened to the radio. She gave a great long sigh, and rolled over. The temperature had slowly begun to drop outside as Autumn turned into Winter, but despite the coolness outdoors, Rogue's bedroom was sweltering hot.

She got off her bed and went across the room, forcing the window open. She stood in front of the window, sighing in content as a rush of cold wind forced its way into her room and across her face in a soothing manner.

This is the potential break-up song  
Our album needs just one  
Oh baby please  
Please tell me

That was when she heard a familiar giggle and an even more familiar laugh coming from below. Gripping the ledge of the window, Rogue leaned forward, sticking her head out the window.

What she saw made her heart pound so hard she was sure everyone within a hundred miles could here it thumping.

We got along  
We got along  
We got along until you did that  
Now all I want is just my stuff back  
Do you get that?  
Let me repeat that  
I want my stuff back

Bobby was holding Carol's hand and pulling her forward as they walked around the Institute grounds.

Carol was giggling uncontrollably as Bobby pulled her forward and speaking, but all Rogue could hear were the laughs he let out between each sentence. Whatever he was saying was obviously funny because Rogue didn't think she'd ever heard Carol giggle so much in one sitting.

For a fleeting moment, Rogue felt like running down to them and breaking up whatever they were doing, just to spite Carol and possibly annoy Bobby, even though she desperately wanted to talk to him.

Though the next thing that happened made her brain stop working altogether. Carol kissed Bobby, and Bobby let her.

You can send it in a box  
I don't care  
Just drop it off  
I won't be home  
Cause without me you know you're lost  
Minus you, I'm better off  
Soon you will know

At first Rogue wanted to yell down that it was disgustingly gross, because Carol was four years older than Bobby and she was his teacher on top of all that. Than she realized that since her and Bobby had refused to break up, he was still her boyfriend and that he was cheating on her.

This didn't cause a pang of pain to shoot through her chest like she had expected it to. It made her angry. It made her madder than furious.

You're not living  
Till you're living, living with me  
You're not winning  
Till you're winning, winning me  
You're not getting  
Till you're getting, getting me  
You're not living 'til you're living, living for me

She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs until she ran out of oxygen and her lungs would explode. She wanted to jump out her window and land on her head just so she couldn't feel feelings and just outright physical pain.

After the flow of rage and hate for Carol, she was filled with the betrayal she had just experienced. Bobby clearly didn't want her anymore. He preferred Carol over her. She should have seen in coming. Ever since the day Carol had pushed her down the stairs and Bobby had opted for comforting Carol, he had stopped caring.

You can try  
You can try  
You know I'd know it'd be a lie  
Without me you're gonna die  
So you better think clearly, clearly  
Before you nearly, nearly messed up the situation  
That you're gonna miss dearly, dearly  
Come on!

_It's all Carol's fault! _She screamed in her head. _If Carol had never showed up, Bobby would still be mine, Kitty would still be hanging out with me and everybody wouldn't be afraid I'm going to kill myself. _

The past month, Rogue had thought things were getting better, but she didn't realize things had in fact been getting worse. 

Logan wasn't there anymore, Bobby wasn't there, Kitty wasn't there. Nobody was there. Just Jubilee, but she could only do so much without throwing a death target on her back. She was filled with a passionate hate for Carol and desire to get revenge.

You're not living  
Till you're living, living with me  
You're not winning  
Till you're winning, winning me  
You're not getting  
Till you're getting, getting me  
You're not living 'til you're living, living for me

Then it hit Rogue. No, there was one person who was there for her. Pyro. He was there. Always.

_I have to tell him. _Rogue glanced back down at Bobby and Carol. For the meantime they had pulled apart but still laughing like fifteen year olds. _This has gone on long enough. Tomorrow after Danger Room, I'm telling everyone the truth about Ms. Marvel. She's a psychotic murderer. _

This is the potential break-up song  
Our album needs just one  
Oh baby please  
Please, tell me

This sprung a new rush of hate and anger for Carol through Rogue. She slammed her window shut and jumped on her bed, placing her pillow over her head.

Rogue had been so wrapped up in her anger before she never heard the loud CRASH come from the other side of the room or notice the pile of metal that was lying on the floor that had once been her radio.

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A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, but life caught up to me and made things hard. Anyways it was somewhat longer then usual and I hope it makes up for it.


	14. A Surprise Not To Be Forgotten

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. **

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**A Surprise Not To Be Forgotten**

"Rogue!"

Rogue ignored Kitty and stormed down the hallway, purse swinging wildly from her tightly clenched fist.

"Rogue!" Kitty said again, sounding confused and exasperated at the same time.

Again Rogue ignored her and walked even faster still.

"Rogue! What the Hell?!"

Rogue finally turned around and saw Kitty looking somewhat dishevelled and a mixture of puzzlement and annoyance on her face.

"What?!" Rogue said in a snappy tone.

"What's your problem?" Kitty asked. You've been so weird ever since you got up this morning. Did something happen?" Kitty asked.

_Yah. My boyfriend made out with my sworn enemy. _"Yah, I don't know." Rogue said sarcastically. "I just want to talk to Jubilee about it, or get out of the Institute for a few hours, okay?"

Kitty blinked a few times. "Yah, well, I guess nobody told you, but Jubilee's in the hospital wing."

Rogue's jaw dropped. "What? Why? When?"

Kitty bit her lip. "I thought you knew. She was running a high fever last night and Hank and Storm are looking after her. Are you sure nobody told you?"

Rogue blinked. "Oh yah, Bobby told me, but I forgot." She lied. Deep inside she felt somewhat betrayed. Did the adults feel she was so untrustworthy that they couldn't tell her that her best friend was in the hospital wing? Carol must have been behind it somehow, but Rogue wondered what on Earth Carol might have said to bring out such a reaction. Or maybe Rogue was reading too much into this, and they just simply hadn't been able to tell her.

Rogue smiled ever so slowly. Yes, that must be it. "Well, I'm going out for a while. See you in a few hours. I'll be back for Danger Room..."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pyro was unable to keep his foot from shaking as he waited impatiently for Rogue's head to appear on the staircase. She wasn't late, but he had been early and he had so much to tell her, but so little time.

His foot's tapings sped up unconsciously that by the time he did see Rogue's head appear at the top of the staircase, the table was shaking.

He stood up quickly, bumping the table and causing the rest of his coffee to turn over, but he didn't care.

He knew something was off with Rogue when her eyes locked with his from across the food court. She didn't flash her warming smile, or wave cheerfully. She just stalked over to him.

As soon as she reached his table, he spoke, skipping the welcoming hug.

"Rogue, you're in danger." The words were out of his mouth before he even thought about them.

Rogue sat down, looking at him calmly. "I've been in danger this past month." She replied, sounding as calm as she looked.

Pyro sat down, clasping his hands together as his foot began shaking again and tapping the floor. "But you're in grave danger... I think. Rogue, what did you say this Ms. Marvel looked like? Wavy blonde hair? Sharp blue eyes?"

Rogue nodded. "Yah, but why do you want to know? And what makes you say I'm in grave danger?" She asked, still sounding oddly calm.

John ran a hand through his hair. "Rogue, try to stay calm, but Carol's working for Magneto." Rogue blinked and her face began to change from calm to panic. "Rogue, I swear I didn't know until the meeting yesterday."

Rogue nodded and then finally was able to clear her throat to speak. "How do you know she's not working for the Professor?"

John inhaled sharply. This was going to hurt. "Because she told Magneto everything. The name, codename, power, age, potential of all the X-Men and then she told us the exact number of students at the school. She showed us blueprints of the Institute and told us who sleeps in what room, which rooms are for recreation, or teaching. She even had some pictures." Rogue seemed at a loss of what to say so he continued. "Rogue, we always knew there was something off about Carol all along and this is it. She's not loyal to the X-Men. She's been spying on you guys for Magneto and she plans to betray you!"

Rogue nodded ever so slowly. "I don't get one thing. Why does she keep hassling me? Her harassments would only strike suspicion in me, but she wouldn't want that, otherwise I might find out her secret..." Rogue trailed off, as though thinking this over.

John trailed off in thought and then it came to him like a ton of bricks. "It's your powers." Rogue gave him an odd look. "It's your powers. She's been scared of you all along. She was being mean because she wanted you to be scared of going near her so you wouldn't touch her accidentally and find out about Magneto."

Rogue nodded. "It makes sense, by why wasn't she just scared of the Professor of reading her mind?"

John let out a snort. "Please? That guy who thinks it'd be disrespectful to go through your head without asking permission first?"

Rogue sighed. "Point taken. But still, what was with all the confrontations and the detentions. From day one I couldn't stand being around her. She was always the one that came back to me... unless..." Rogue trailed off and then began laughing. "She really does down right hate me."

John rolled his eyes. "Rogue, this isn't a laughing matter. What about the time she tried to kill you?"

Rogue looked at him coolly. "Pushing me down the stairs? That really was a dumb thing to do. But it makes sense now, because she realized I'd stopped being scared of her and was mad at her and ready to defend myself through using my mutation. She panicked and knew killing me was certainly the easiest way of keeping things quiet..." Suddenly Rogue gasped.

"What? Rogue, what is it?" John asked, leaning forward, worry laced in between his words.

Rogue shook her head. "I really am in danger now. If Carol finds out I know, she really will kill me." Rogue blinked a few times then stared John right in the eye.

John ran a hand through his hair, exhaling long and loudly. "Rogue this is really serious now. You can't keep this quiet anymore. You've got to tell everyone. The longer you wait, the more in danger you put yourself in."

Rogue nodded. "I know...But I can't walk right in there and go right into the details. They'll never believe me, and if they do, they'll want to know how I know."

John and Rogue stood up at exactly the same time. "Rogue, stop being stupid! This is something you can't keep hidden! Tell the Professor! Tell Logan! They'll believe you whether or not it came from me. If they're the people I know them to be anyways."

Rogue nodded. "Okay. I'll tell them."

John shook his head and he had a knowing look on his face. He was smirking, but he looked annoyed. "Something tells me you're going to wait and when you are ready to tell them, you're not going to be able to because Carol's gotten to you first." His eyes rolled from the ceiling and back to her. "Promise me you'll tell them before it gets to that point."

Rogue nodded. "Yah, I promise."

John still looked uncertain as he shook his head. "I'll see you next week then." He started to walk past her.

Rogue shot her hand out and grabbed his wrist as he walked by. "John." Pyro turned to look at her as he addressed her, her voice sounding odd. "What will happen to you? Carol will tell Magneto how I found out and what will happen to you?" She turned to worry-filled face to him.

John gave a small grin and shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'll leave Magneto. Right now it's either your life or my loyalty. I'd rather save your life." Her hand dropped as she released his wrist. "Remember your promise." He whispered and walked away.

Rogue stood standing there for a long time, not caring people were giving her weird looks as they walked around her.

It was a long time before she finally turned and left the mall. She had without a doubt missed dinner and Danger Room session, but it didn't matter. None of it did. All that mattered was getting Carol's secret out in the open. Carol was a spy.

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A/N: Sorry, but I seriously had no idea how to continue on with my story, and this is what I came up with. I hope you liked it. and sorry for taking so long.


	15. The Truth Finally Revealed

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. **

* * *

**The Truth Finally Revealed**

Rogue hadn't gone straight home after her meeting with John. She'd gone to the nearest park for a while so she could think how she would tell everyone and get Carol's secret in the open. It was a few hours before she left the silence of the dark park and headed home, only to realize it was close to midnight and everyone was asleep.

She went to bed, repeating her little monologue over and over again in her head as she went up to her bedroom and got ready for bed and hopped in.

The morning passed in a blur of colours and sounds, though through the consistent ramblings of Kitty she learned a few things. Jubilee was still in the hospital wing, but was doing better, and Xavier and Logan had taken off on a mission the previous night while she had been out. Sometime during lunch Kitty told her that Storm and Scott had planned for a Danger Room that evening right after dinner.

With that information, Rogue made the promise to herself that during dinner she'd make the announcement about Carol.

The afternoon went by as usual, Rogue pretending to be the same as she had been and not letting on to anybody the information she knew.

Classes ended and Rogue retreated to her room with Kitty to do homework, though Rogue found herself writing out her monologue over and over again in her notebook rather then doing her English essay.

She was so absorbed in her work she nearly jumped when Kitty tapped her shoulder and told her they should head down for dinner.

The pair headed downstairs and Rogue walked in the kitchen, observing everyone. Xavier and Logan still hadn't returned from whatever mission they had left for the night before, but the rest of the team had gathered in the kitchen and was eating. Everyone that is, except Carol.

Rogue let out an irritated sigh. She had wanted Carol to be there when she revealed her secret, just so she could her look of horror and feel the sweet pleasure of the revenge she had been longing for the past month.

Rogue grabbed some food and sat down at a table with Kitty and they ate in silence. The minutes stretched by, Rogue's eyes never leaving the door. Several times the door would swing open and she's hold her breath, only to exhale in annoyance when she realized it was some of the younger students.

Twenty minutes later Rogue finished her dinner but still no sign of Carol.

"Alright X-Men, we have a Danger Room Session in ten minutes. It's time we went down and got ready." Storm called on her way out of the kitchen.

"Carol didn't eat dinner!" Rogue blurted out. "I mean..." She thought quickly. "It wouldn't be fair if she missed dinner and was forced to do Danger Room on an empty stomach."

Storm turned and looked at her slowly. "Carol ate early and is already downstairs waiting."

Rogue could feel all her inner intestines dropping into her feet as all the other got up and left the kitchen. It took her a minute to realize she was in there by herself before she left. The elevator doors just closed as she stepped in the hall.

She muttered several long curses under her breath as she went down the stairs into the basement.

She reached the basement and went in the locker room, pulling her uniform on. She heard Kitty enter the room sometime after her and then heard her rambling on about pointless things to someone that was out of sight.

As Rogue tugged a glove on as she made her way out of the room, she saw the blonde hair of Carol.

She stepped out in the hallway, but the only one who was there was Storm. Rogue made her way over to her.

"Hey Storm." Rogue said as she approached the older mutant. Storm turned to look at her. "I need to tell you something important."

Storm nodded. "Yes? What is it?" She asked politely. She looked as though she thought what Rogue had to say had nothing more to do then her homework.

"It affects the whole team." Rogue added, not liking how calm Storm appeared.

Storm looked more serious now. "What is it? If it affects the whole team, do you think maybe you should wait for the rest of the team to hear?" She asked.

Rogue saw Bobby, Peter, Kitty and Hank approaching now. She shook her head. "No. It can't wait."

Storm nodded and locked eyes with her. "Okay then. What is on your mind?"

Before Rogue could utter a single word, Scott came down the hall. "Alright X-Men. In the Danger Room and let's start this Simulation."

Storm looked up at him. "In a minute Scott. Rogue has something to say."

Rogue turned to address him now, but he waved her off. "I'm sure whatever it is can wait until after the Simulation."

"But it can't!" Rogue blurted, but it didn't matter. Everyone had already gone in the room and only Storm remained outside with her.

Storm placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just tell me now." She whispered, leading Rogue into the Danger Room.

Rogue nodded, ignoring Scott as he explained the exercise. "Well Storm. The thing is you see-"

"Alright! That's the mission!" Scott called out just as the metallic room changed into an abandoned New York City at night.

Rogue turned around only to see Storm was no longer there. They must have gotten separated when the room changed into the Simulation.

Well, she had no choice now. She had to go through the damn exercise before she could tell anyone about Carol.

So what had been the instructions again? She didn't know. She had been talking to Storm. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. Well at least one thing was obvious. She had to find the rest of her team.

The ground shuddered. And before the Sentinels found her first.

She made her way down the streets at a fairly fast pace. The Sentinels seemed far enough away she didn't have to worry about them.

The sound of trash cans crashing and falling over made Rogue freeze for a moment before she saw Iceman jump over them in an attempt to keep himself from landing flat on his face.

Rogue's face fell completely. "Very graceful." She said sarcastically, giving him a hard look.

Bobby looked up and the look of amusement on his face dropped to that of uncertainty. "It was an accident. I turned because I thought I heard something and I knocked them over." He explained, watching Rogue as she walked over to him.

"Sure, right. Just an _accident_. Just like everything else." Her voice was filled with malice as she glared at him and walked past him.

"It _was_ an accident!" Bobby sounded desperate. He followed her, jogging a little to catch up to her at her fast pace. "Wait... What do you mean just like everything else?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. Boys were really dumb sometimes. "Never mind."

"No!" He said, grabbing her arm and spinning her to face him. "If you're going to make a comment like that I want to know what you mean!" He said sternly, sounding a little aggressive. "You've been so secretive this past month! Not to mention you've been avoiding me-"

"Oh, _I_'ve been avoiding _you_?!" Rogue yelled in disbelief. "I'm not the one that goes out with Carol everyday and every night!" She spat, venom in her voice. "_You_'re the one who doesn't have time for _me_ because you're so fucking busy mooning over Carol!" She snapped.

Bobby stared at Rogue is shock for quite a long time. He had looked angry before at the accusations but the last bit made him stop. Finally he opened his mouth, no doubt to defend himself.

"Forget it." Rogue spat and turned around, storming away at her fast pace.

It was several minutes before she heard Bobby run after her and then walk behind her. A least he had enough senses to know it was best to keep his mouth closed and not try to explain anything to Rogue. She wouldn't listen to him.

Rogue barely noticed them picking up Kitty and Peter, as they wandered down the streets aimlessly. The intensity of the tension between her and Bobby was nearly suffocating, and when she looked over her shoulder to make sure Peter and Kitty were keeping up with her fast pace (she could care less if Bobby had gotten lost), she could see the confusion and awkwardness they felt reflected in their faces.

After several long, heart wrenching minutes, they found Scott, standing near the edge of town, just outside the forest. He wasn't alone, he was with Storm and Hank, and as the group of teenagers approached, Warren flew down to the ground to stand beside them, followed closely by Carol.

"Good, you guys are here." Scott said, checking his watch. "Alright, we have approximately ten minutes to save the captives."

"Where are they?" Bobby asked.

"Just in the warehouse down the street. If we're lucky, we can be there and back before the ten minutes is up." Scott replied, leading the way down the street.

"And remind me, what happens in ten minutes?" Kitty asked.

Scott sighed in slight agitation, but it as Hank who answered. "Sentinels."

Silence ensued as the adults all kept up a fairly fast pace, walking on either side of Scott. The teenagers, were behind the adults, but keeping pace with the adults.

Rogue was behind the group, her eyes flicking between Bobby, Scott, Storm and Carol, however her eyes became all for Carol when the blonde flew into the air, did a little loop and fell into step beside Rogue.

"I know why you're mad at Bobby." Carol whispered so the others wouldn't hear.

Rogue turned her head away pointedly, trying her best to ignore Carol.

"But I honestly think you're being overdramatic about it. I mean, I feel sorry for Bobby. Not being able to kiss his girlfriend and all. I can't blame him for coming onto a sexy woman like me." Carol smirked in her gloating way.

That made Rogue stop. She whipped around to face Carol, ripping off her left glove. "THAT'S IT!" She screamed, raising her left arm and slapped Carol right across the face, drawing strength from the touch.

Carol's face changed from her smug satisfaction to shock and panic. Rogue had mustered all her strength and the moment she felt Carol flooding into her, she put it into the blow.

Carol stumbled back a few steps, holding her cheek tenderly, until her face turned to pure rage. "Bitch!" She cried, jumping at Rogue.

However, Rogue was ready for her. As soon as Carol was within arms reach, Rogue put her hands around Carol's neck, as Carol forced her onto the ground. She felt Carol's power flowing into her and lifted her feet underneath Carol, kicking the blonde up and over her head. Rogue rolled over in time to see Carol slamming back first into a brick building.

Rogue had just got to her feet, when Carol came shooting out, her smouldering with rage and hatred. As she flew over Rogue, she grabbed her and continued full speed.

The grip Carol held on Rogue was like iron, and Rogue could almost hear the bones in her arms cracking under her hold. She aimed a kick at Carol's head, causing Carol to release one of her arms to block the kick.

Now that she had mobility in her one arm, she was able to throw a punch across Carol's face. At the impact, Carol's head snapped back, but almost instantly she faced Rogue again and released Rogue with her other arm and punched her as well.

Rogue felt her cheek throbbing as Carol continued to throw punches at her, which Rogue dodged nimbly by flying from side to side, and tilting her head and ducking when required. Finally Carol lifted a leg and kicked Rogue over the shoulder, causing her to go spiralling to the ground.

She hit the ground hard, but was on her feet almost instantly. By the point, the rest of the team was well aware of the fighting and were now approaching Rogue from behind yelling and ordering the girls to stop fighting.

By now, the fight meant so much more to Rogue. It wasn't just about the insults and the pushing and the attempted murder. Carol was a traitor and meant to betray the team, and Rogue would do everything in her power to protect her team mates and friends.

Rogue shot into the air at Carol again before the dust and dirt had time to settle. She reached Carol in a matter of heartbeats and was this time on the offence. She was pleased to see she landed more blows then Carol before her had, and ever more so when she saw she finally drew blood.

When Carol turned her head to spit out blood, she kicked Rogue, catching her on the side and turning her. She then wrapped her arms around Rogue and shot to the ground, with the intention of having Rogue's head meeting the concrete first.

"Traitor!" Rogue yelled, bending her elbows and clutching Carol's hands with her own.

While drawing even more power, she wiggled downward so it would be Carol's head that met the pavement of the road first.

However, Carol managed to turn herself in time, so Rogue's entire body slammed against the cement. Although the force of the blow was so powerful, Carol went soaring over Rogue's head and skidded on the ground quite a few yards away.

Both girls leaped to their feet, ready to spring at each other, when Bobby grabbed Rogue, and Warren grabbed Carol.

"Enough!" Both boys and Storm yelled, a mixture of anger, shock and horror in their tones.

Carol broke out of Warren's grip a heartbeat before Rogue did of Bobby's and both girls flew at each other, fists raised. They both dodged, missing each other, and while flying past, as though thinking with the same mind, twisted in the air and struck each other across the face.

Both went flying back and again jumped to their feet. However, this time it was Peter and Hank who intervened. Peter wrapped his arms around Rogue, while Hank twisted Carol's arms behind her back. Carol screeched with fury and struggled to free herself.

Rogue however, slumped against Peter, feeling the last of Carol's power and strength being sapped from her body as the psyche settled in the back of her mind, her powers spent.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Storm snapped, her eyes blazing with such a fury, Rogue hardly recognized her.

Rogue opened her mouth but before she could speak, Scott shook his head and spoke first. "Let's get them in the War Room first."

--

Rogue held her tongue all the way to the War Room, Peter not releasing his grip on her, and Hank likewise with Carol, as though they all expected Rogue and Carol to go at it again.

Rogue stood in the front of the room while everyone took a seat, including Peter who left her at the front by herself. Carol didn't take a seat, she stood in the back, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and looking at Rogue with hostile eyes.

"Carol's a traitor!" Rogue yelled, pointing at Carol in an accusatory manner, not even waiting for one of the adults to give her permission to speak. "She's working for Magneto!" She added bitterly, glaring at Carol with all the hatred she had ever felt for her.

The team stared at Rogue with wide eyes. There was silence and finally Scott broke it. "Those are some pretty wild accusations Rogue."

"They're true!" Rogue snapped, forgetting the amount of respect she felt towards the X-Man leader. "She's been working for him before she joined us! She's told him everything about everyone!" She looked at Carol, who's face had darkened, bowing her head so it was in shadows.

Storm and Scott shared and uneasy glance. Kitty's eyes widened with shock, as though she believed Rogue was a lunatic. Bobby looked disapproving. Warren and Hank shared a look, but Rogue missed it. Peter alone looked undisturbed.

Though Scott's next words chilled Rogue to the bone. "Rogue don't be ridiculous. Carol's as loyal as any of us."

Rogue's jaw dropped open in horror and she saw Carol tilt her head upwards and smirk at her. "But..." She stopped dead and restarted. "Carol's working for the enemy! How can you not see it! She's been worried about me touching her all this time because I'd find out, so she's been looking for ways to keep me silent. She tried to kill me! That day when she pushed me down the stairs!" Rogue blurted out.

Scott shook his head, annoyance flickering across his face. "Now really!" He said, sounding exasperated. "I know you and Carol aren't the greatest friends but making up such a story isn't helping anyone you know!"

"I'm not lying!" Rogue snapped. "It's the truth! She's working with Magneto and I know because John told me so!"

Nearly everyone in the room stiffened at the mention of his name. "Pyro?" Kitty whispered, her voice barely reaching Rogue's ears. Rogue nodded.

Bobby stood up, glaring defiance at Rogue. "You come in here, expecting us to believe Carol's a traitor?" He said, his voice harsh and cold. "Carol's not the one meeting with the enemy. Pyro betrayed us and joined Magneto and you expect us to believe Carol's going to betray us when you've been seeing Pyro for who knows how long? If anything _you're_ the traitor!" He sank back down in his chair, his face dark.

Rogue stared at him in horror. So far Scott and Bobby refused to believe her, both looking at her in anger. She turned to Storm, looking at her with such a serious gaze.

Storm hesitated before speaking. "I do believe you mean well Rogue but..." She trailed off.

"But?!" Rogue snapped, her fear making her reckless.

Storm hesitated again. "But there's no proof beyond what you say Pyro told you. Rogue, I know you two were close friends, but that's in the past, and now he is our enemy. It's disloyal to be meeting him." She sighed, leaning back in her chair having finished saying her piece.

Rogue looked around the room, wondering if anyone would support her. She didn't think Kitty would. The girl was shaking so hard Rogue doubted any words she managed to get out would sound strangled and out of place.

Warren and Beast were too new to the team to know anything about what was going on.

Rogue turned to her last hope. "Peter?" She looked at him, her eyes pleading with his to believe her. _I need you to believe me. _She thought, eyes boring into his.

Peter looked into her eyes. He opened his mouth to ay something, but nothing came out so he closed it, and then broke the eye contact with her, looking away in shame.

Rogue felt her face drain and her whole body turn cold. "Fine." She said in a cold and neutral tone. She addressed everyone in the room. "Fine!" She repeated, louder this time. "Nothings the same anyways." She turned and stormed out of the room.

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**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to get the next chapter up. Life was stressing me out so badly. I'm not going to say exactly what but I'll let you know it was a bunch of things all piling up on top of each other. Really talk about chaos. Not to mention the school musical dates approached and next thing I know year end projects arrive and BA-BAM! Exaaaaams... which I still have to write so be thankful I found time between studying to get this up.**


	16. Away

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. **

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Away

Rogue paced back and forth between the door and the window of her room, taking long quick strides, fuming the whole while. She kept glancing at the black bag on her bed, debating with herself.

Eventually she snatched the bag and flung it over her shoulder, storming out of the room and down the hall. She passed the elevator and ran down the stairs. She reached the main floor and began to storm across the foyer when something popped into her head.

Sighing, she turned around slowly and went over to the elevator. It opened as soon as she pushed the bottom and rode the elevator down to the basement.

As soon as the doors opened again, she stepped out and walked down the hall slowly. She was about halfway down when she stopped, pushing open the door to a darkened room and poked her head in.

"Jubilee?" She whispered, her voice cracking. "Jubilee?" She whispered again, a little more loudly.

She heard some shuffling and could make out the outline of Jubilee as she sat up in bed. "Rogue?" She didn't sound angry or confused, but concerned.

Rogue flicked on the lights and stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind her. "Hi." She said, eyes falling from the opposite wall to the floor, unable to meet the other girl's eyes.

Jubilee however was able to tell what was going on. She glanced between the bag on Rogue's shoulder and her jacket and then down. "You're leaving?" She sounded close to tears.

Rogue nodded, feeling her eyes filling rapidly with tears. "Yah. I'm leaving."

Jubilee sighed and looked up at Rogue. "I knew this was going to happen. Why didn't you tell them about Carol?"

Rogue shook her head. "I did. They just don't believe me. And I can't stay here. Not now that she knows I know! Plus I could never live with X-Men anymore. Not when they have betrayed me." Rogue shook her head again, blinking quickly to try and rid her eyes of her tears.

Jubilee looked at Rogue steadily, eyes never flicking away. "I believe you Rogue. I could never betray you."

Rogue looked up, and slid her bag onto the floor. She then rushed across the room to hug her friend. "Oh Jubilee. Thank you! Thank you so much! But I still can't stand being around Carol. She's going to kill me!"

Jubilee nodded. "I want to come with you, but I know it'd be better to stay here."

Rogue nodded. "You'll be safe with the X-Men. Just make sure you don't let on what you know about Carol." It was then she realized just how much danger Jubilee could be in. She was tempted for a moment to invite Jubilee along, but then remembered she didn't even know where she was going. And Jubilee still carried faint traces of sickness on her. It would be best if she just remained with the people who trusted her and could care for her.

Rogue hugged her again. "I'll miss you so much Jubilee." She whispered, a single tear falling down her face. She pulled back and saw Jubilee was crying too.

Jubilee sighed. "I wish you would stay, but I know I can't convince you. Just promise me you'll be safe." Rogue nodded, not mentioning she had no idea where she was going. Jubilee sighed again. "Will you ever return to the X-Men?"

Rogue hesitated. _Would _she ever return? "I don't know Jubilee. Definitely not while Carol's lurking about."

Jubilee nodded and embraced her again. "Good luck Rogue. I hope I see you again."

Rogue broke away from Jubilee and went back across the room. She grabbed her bag before turning back to face Jubilee. "Nobody ever had such a great friend. I hope to see you again too. Until then. Good-bye." She blinked as another tear attempted to roll down her cheek.

Jubilee blinked and looked away miserably. "Good-bye Rogue."

Rogue nodded to acknowledge the other girl's farewell and flicked the lights off, and left the room, the door closing softly on its own.

The walk down the hall and ride up the elevator was uneventful, but perhaps one of the most painful experiences of her life. She was leaving the place she had come to love and feel safe around, but in a few minutes, she would leave, not knowing if she would return.

Then it hit her. She had gone through the same thing before. When she left her home in Mississippi after she learned she became a mutant. She had run away, not knowing if she would see her house or parents again.

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out, looking across the foyer at the wooden doors. For a minute, the space between the elevator and the doors seemed to stretch out, but when she blinked, everything was normal and she made her way to them, trying to keep herself composed.

She was just within reach of grasping the door when she heard an all too familiar voice come from behind. "Are you leaving?"

She let go of the door handle and turned around to look Logan in the eye, but found she was unable to. "Yah. I am."

"Why? You don't have to go." He said, persuasion in his tone.

Rogue shook her head. "Yes I do. I don't belong here."

Logan sighed and Rogue finally dared to look at his face. It was neutral for the most part, but his eyes were blinking slowly. Rogue had seen him do this before. He was debating with himself if he should argue with her, or step back and let her do what she wanted.

He sighed again. "Alright kid. If it's that's how you really feel..." He looked away and then back at her. "Do you at least want a ride?"

Rogue nodded, even though she wasn't sure where to go. "Thank you." She said as he led the way to the garage.

Once there, he pulled out the keys to his motorcycle and strapped her bag to the back before getting on and turning the engine on. "Where am I dropping you off."

Rogue closed her eyes and paused to think for a moment, and instantly, an image of John popped in her head. _"You know if anything happens, you can always come with me. To The Brotherhood I mean. We'll look after you there. I'll look after you."_Rogue opened her eyes. "To the mall please." She wrapped her arms around Logan's waist as he revved the engine once and then tore off down the driveway and out onto the street.

Rogue let out a sigh. She hoped she was making the right choice. When the mall came in sight she began to regret her decision until she heard his words repeated in her head. _"I'll look after you."_Could she trust him to keep his promise? She knew she could. Somehow she believed he would.

All too soon Logan stopped the motorcycle in front of the mall. He jumped off and unstrapped her bag from the back.

He held it out to her and grabbed it. "Thank you Logan. For everything."

He didn't let go of the bag. "Are you sure this is what you want? You don't have to leave you know. Everyone cares about you. Nobody wants to see you go."

Rogue was about to reply but stopped herself as it suddenly struck her. He hadn't been at the meeting. He didn't know about Carol. He thought she was leaving to get the cure!

Rogue spoke in a whisper. "Oh Logan..." She dropped her bag and hugged him, pressing the side of her face against him. He hesitated before hugging her back.

She debated telling him the truth. He would probably believe her, but then again, she had expected the rest of the team believe her, but the only one who had somewhat appeared to, had been Peter, but even then he couldn't even speak in her defence. No, she couldn't bear to suffer the pain of betrayal again.

She pulled away and he sighed, sounding defeated. "Be safe kid."

She nodded. "I will. Oh, do me a favour." She had started to turn away and looked back at him. "Keep a watch over Jubilee? She's my best friend and I don't want her to get hurt."

Logan gave Rogue a blank look and then his eyes clouded over. "Alright. I promise I'll make sure she's safe until you return."

_Return? _That word seemed to pierce Rogue's heart. _Will I ever? _

With a last nod to Logan, she turned to walk into the mall. At the doors, she turned to see Logan still standing there, watching her go as though expecting her to run back to him, begging him to take her back to the Institute.

She wouldn't. She couldn't. Not when the X-Men had betrayed her so. Turning back to the doors, she pulled it open and stepped inside the mall. There was a few people, but it was nowhere near as busy as it was during the day.

Checking her watch, she noticed that the mall would be closing in fifteen minutes. She slung her bag over her shoulder and began wandering around.

What had she been thinking? John wouldn't be here so late! He was most likely back at his headquarters, relaxing with his buddies.

_Idiot! _She chided herself. She'd have to wait until the mall opened the next morning, and wait at the food court to see if he'd come that day.

_The food court! _If he was here, that's where he'd be. She ran up the stairs, hoping, praying he'd be there.

She reached the top and sighed in relief when she saw he was indeed there. However, her shoulders dropped when she noticed that he was not alone. He was with a woman with black hair, and a tattoo on her face.

The bag slid down her arm and into her hand. She had been hoping she could just collapse into John's arms and tell him everything, however with this woman here, she wouldn't betray such a fragile emotion.

Shaking her head and face clear of emotion, she stalked across the food court, that was empty except for John and the black haired woman.

John clearly didn't notice her approaching because he jumped when she dropped her bag onto the table right in front of him, knocking his and the other woman's coffee cups onto the floor.

He looked up at her, his face full of surprise. "Rogue? What-"

She cut him off. "I've decided to join Magneto." She said briskly, eyes narrowing coolly as she looked down at him.

The look of surprise changed and he was grinning. "Welcome aboard." He said.

The woman with black hair glared between Rogue and John. "Pyro! You can't just allow her to enter the team! She's an X-Man! For all you know, she's on a spying mission!" The mistrust was prominent in her dark eyes.

John shrugged off her hostility. "Rogue, this is Callisto. She's Magneto's right hand mutant."

Rogue nodded a cool greeting, not liking the look Callisto was looking at her. "After Mystique." Callisto said sharply to what John said. "And then after you." She added pointedly.

"Yah, well Mystique's gone, so that just makes your ranking that much higher." He said, and from his tone, he was growing impatient with Callisto. He turned back to Rogue. "Come on. We'll take you back right away to see Magneto." He stood up and picked Rogue's bag off the table and began walking away.

Rogue blinked in confusion and then jogged to catch up with him and walk beside him, but she didn't ask why he carried her bag for her. Looking over her shoulder and seeing Callisto still back at the table grumbling to herself, leaned over to whisper to John. "I'll explain later."

He nodded in understanding and soon Callisto caught up and they went out to the parking lot. He led the way over to two motorcycles and strapped Rogue's bag to the back of his while Callisto hopped on the other and sat, watching John and Rogue with a pissed off look. Actually as Rogue stood waiting, she realized it was pretty much her getting the hated look, and not John.

John finished strapping the bag and got on his motorcycle and beckoned for Rogue to get on behind him. "Sorry, but I don't have a helmet."

Rogue shrugged. "It's ok. I don't wear them whenever I'm riding with Logan anyways."

John nodded and Callisto and him turned their motorcycles on. Callisto revved her's once and then took off. John revved his and was about to follow but hesitated and looked over his shoulder at Rogue. "You might want to hold on. Tight." He added and waited until Rogue had put her arms around his waist before following Callisto.

Rogue had hesitated and as she linked her arms around him, she felt a blush warming its way onto her cheeks, and was thankful when John took off after Callisto so he couldn't turn to look at her.

She enjoyed the feeling of the wind brushing her face and whipping her back over her shoulders and she felt a smile grace her face and she unconsciously leaned forward and rested the side of her face against John's back. For half a second he seemed to tense up, but then relaxed and she felt her smile grow.

He soon slowed down and Rogue looked up, wondering if they were already there and saw it was because they had come to a red light. John pulled right up beside Callisto. "Was Magneto getting back tonight or tomorrow morning?" He asked.

Callisto looked as if she was thinking before answering. "Tonight." The light turned green and she sped ahead.

John followed her once again, and turned his head to the side so Rogue could hear him talking over the sound of the wind. "So what happened? Did Carol make it out like you were the traitor?"

Rogue sighed and rested her chin on his shoulder so he could hear her. "Yah."

John sigh in exasperation. "I told you this would happen, didn't I?!"

Rogue winced and pulled back from John, her grip on his waist slacking somewhat.

John shook his head. "Too soon, huh? Sorry." He was quiet for a moment and Rogue retightened her grip as a sign that he was forgiven. "Don't worry. Living with Bortherhood's not that difference. You got your idiots, you got the show offs, the tantrums, training and the pep talks." Rogue could almost hear him grinning. "I hope you like it." He added.

Rogue nodded. "I hope so too. I can't go back to the X-Men. Never."

She knew the grin was fading from John's face, being replaced with a serious look, even without seeing his face. "Then I really hope you like staying with us. And if not, I'm sorry."

"Why would you be sorry?" Rogue asked. "It's not your fault."

John shook his head. "Because I'm the one who invited you to come stay with us, wasn't I? So therefore I should feel some responsibility for your unhappiness."

Rogue pressed the side of her face against his back again. "Just don't abandon me." She hesitated and then spoke again with a hint of pleading in her voice. "Just don't abandon me again and I'll be happy enough."

Even as they were speeding of after Callisto and even through the thick fabric of his leather jacket, she could feel him tense up, then relax again.

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**A/N: I don't have anything to say for once except read and review. **


	17. She Did WHAT!

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.**

**Uh oh guys, so how much trouble am I in?? I'm sorry. I had a lot of stuff going on. Seriously, I could write a novel about my life of the past 3 months. Don't be too tough on me, please?? Anyways, I'm sorry it took me so long to sit down and actually write something, but I finally managed to get my creative bubble moving again past the stress and I thought it might make a nice New Year's present. **

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She Did What?!

Logan walked back into the mansion, tossing the motorcycle keys onto a nearby table. He rubbed his hands over his face a few times, scowling and sighing to himself. For some reason, he felt like he'd just delivered Rogue to her death. In a way, he guess he had. She was going to get the cure. She wouldn't have her powers anymore. Rogue would cease to exist. She'd be known as Marie, the little girl from Mississippi.

He leaned against the wall, tilting his head backwards. He felt as if everyone was slipping away from him and he couldn't control it. Jean was dead. Rogue had left the team. Xavier was becoming mysteriously distant....

He shook his head. He was still in shock over Rogue's abrupt departure. He had left for 24 hours and returned to see his Marie ready to run off. Although he shouldn't be completely surprised. He'd known from the moment he'd first met her she hated her powers, because it put a strain on her day-to-day life. Still, something about the way she had left him, made it feel like she hadn't really wanted to go for whatever reason.

Logan growled out loud. Damnit! Why did everything have to be so confusing? He felt another growl rumbling in his throat, echoing in the empty corridor.

"Logan? Is something wrong?" Logan nearly jumped out of his skin at Storm's voice. Here he'd thought he was alone. He hadn't even realized Storm had approached him, which was really weird, considering his heightened senses. Was he really that distracted?

"Logan?" He could hear the rising concern in Storm's voice.

"Everything's fine." He muttered. "Just thinking."

Storm exhaled noisily. "Well, don't make awkward noises like that again. I thought you'd picked up the scent of an intruder or something."

"Sorry." He mumbled.

Storm brushed some loose strands of white hair behind her ear. "Anyways, Logan. A lot of things happened while you and the Professor were gone. The rest of the team has gathered downstairs so we can-"

Logan cut her off, raising his hand and waving it in a dismissing manner. "I already know." It still felt unreal. Almost like as long as nobody said it, it hadn't happened and any moment Rogue would come walking down the hall, on her way to the Rec. Room or kitchen.

Storm blinked in confusion. "You do?"

Logan nodded once, and turned to walk the other way. "I saw her. I know she's run off to go get the cure."

Logan heard Storm splutter, but didn't even face her. Storm was looking at Logan's back with wide eyes. "Logan, she didn't leave to get the cure." Her voice faded out but forced herself to continue in a forceful tone. He needed to hear. "Logan, she left for good." Logan turned his rock hard look on her.

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"So this is where the oh so famous Magneto lives?" Rogue asked, looking at the multiple stories stacked one on top of the other, eyes wide with wonderment, and a big grin of amusement on her face.

Pyro turned to look at her and grinned as if he found what she said amusing. "Yah. This is home."

Rogue's eyes darted to look at Pyro in the face for half a second before snapping back to the building. Pyro pretended not to notice as he hopped off the motorcycle and unstrapped Rogue's bag.

Rogue slid off and went to grab her bag from Pyro, but he swung it over his shoulder and linked his free arm with her outstretched arm. "Come on. If Magneto's home, I'll take you to see him now."

Somehow Rogue had forgotten she needed the senior mutant's approval. She'd felt like since John wanted her to stay then it was fine, but no, Magneto had to approve of it. "Oh." Was all she mumbled as Pyro dragged her toward the building, almost too enthusiastically.

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"She did WHAT?!" Logan's bellow practically echoed throughout the entire mansion. He was the only one standing in the War Room. Only the adults were present, with the exception of Carol.

Storm sighed. "Please, Logan, it's hard enough explaining it once, don't make me repeat it."

Logan glared at her. "And you just kicked her out, because she brought up concerns about something that could damage the team? What kind of fucking super heroes are you?" He growled.

Scott leaped to his feet. "We did not kick her out Logan! Calm down, okay? Look, we just told her she needed more evidence before making accusations against a team mate. She's the one who flew into a fury and stormed off."

"Only because you guys succeeded in making her feel like an outcast." Logan snapped right back.

Beast rubbed his hands together slowly, as if they were cold and he was warming them up. "Logan, believe us. We didn't think she'd take off like that. Though when you told us she left, we can only assume there's one place she's gone too."

Logan gave him a blank look. Beast sighed. "She's gone to join Magneto." The response to this was a chair being thrown across the room.

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"John! Slow down!" Rogue said, close to a yell. Pyro was currently holding her hand and pulling her down various hallways. Left, right, right, left, right. He was walking, but was almost at a run. She was trying to memorize the way as they went, but was forgetting when they went left or right or straight.

John was chuckling, almost like a school girl. Rogue couldn't ever remember seeing him this giddy. "Don't worry. If the man let's you stay, I'll give you a proper tour."

Finally he stopped, but gave no warning. Rogue's feet kept going and she slammed her face right into John's back. She fell back, tears springing to her eyes, her nose stinging. She gave it a quick rub to numb the pain.

John has knocked on the door, but when turned back around and saw Rogue on the ground he grabbed her by the elbows and hoisted her back up. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" He kept repeating it over and over again.

Rogue shook her head, the tears disappearing. She looked back at John, one eyebrow raised. "It's okay John. I'm fine. I should have been paying attention." She felt slightly awkward with John holding her elbows.

Even though she had brushed it off, he kept apologizing under his breath and holding her elbows. Only when the door first creaked open did he shut his mouth and spin back around.

The door opened fully to reveal the one and only Magneto. "Ah. Pyro. How kind of you to drop by." His gaze shifted over Pyro's shoulder to look at Rogue. He was unable to hide the shock that covered his face. "Rogue?"

----------------------------------------------

"Why-" He kicked a chair, "the fucking-" He picked up the chair. "Bloody Hell-" He threw the chair across the room. "Would she-" He grabbed another chair. "Fucking-" He threw it. "Take off!" He seized another chair and launched it across the room right after the other two.

He made for another chair but Storm rushed forward and grabbed the chair from him and set it back down. "Logan, calm down. We're just as upset about this as you are."

Logan let out a loud, barking laughter. "Upset?" He asked very sarcastically. "Obviously you're not upset! You guys made her feel rejected. You didn't once consider the possibility maybe she was telling the truth. What's happened to this fucking team huh?" He shook the chair in front of him in anger. "What's happened to the X-Men?" He repeated. "You guys used to investigate everything! You know, looked into every possible threat! No idea's were ridiculous, everything was a possibility. So, we haven't had anyone betray the team yet, it doesn't mean it won't happen!" He growled and slapped the side of the chair, causing it to fall over. "This fucking team isn't the same. One person dies and everyone just forgets about the X-Men."

Scott stood up to defy him, but it was useless because Logan had already stormed out of the room and slammed the door closed behind him. Still fuming, Scott glared at the door, his eyebrows knitting together. "He's wrong!" He snapped, and turned to look back at the others, expecting them to be nodding. Logan was just mad. He'd cool down and things would fall back into place.

However, Storm and Beast had bowed their heads, almost s if in shame, and Warren was looking thoughtful. Scott couldn't hide his surprise. "What?" He asked, a sharp edge to his tone.

Warren turned his piercing blue eyes on Scott. "That's the exact same thing Rogue said, isn't it?"

Scott tried to think back to a few hours earlier. _Fine! Nothings the same anyways. _Scott shook his head, but when he spoke, he sounded uncertain. "They're wrong, aren't they?"

---------------------------------------

Overall, Rogue was pleased. She didn't even have to say a word. Magneto had granted her entrance into his office and sat Rogue and John down and then John had started explaining to Magneto how Rogue wished to join the Brotherhood. He didn't add any details about Carol, which Rogue was grateful for. Carol worked for The Brotherhood, it wasn't a secret anymore. If John mentioned it, Magneto might get mad that she knew and have her locked up or something. Besides, Rogue wasn't supposed to know in the first place. There was only one way she could know....

"So she was really hoping to stay with us." John finished.

Magneto sat on his desk, giving himself some height so he could still look down on the two. In his presence, Rogue felt insignificant. Magneto crossed his arms and exhaled, eyes shifting from Pyro, to Rogue, back to Pyro, then to Rogue again where they remained. "So just like that?"

Rogue wasn't quite sure what he wanted her to say to that. She sat looking at him, feeling like a complete moron. Magneto shifted his position slightly. "How do I know you won't go running back to Charles when you've gathered enough information on us?" He asked, keeping his voice neutral, but Rogue could detect the hint of a threat in it.

_I wouldn't! _She wanted to say, but she knew that losing self control like that would only lead to disaster. "Because... the X-Men isn't the same. It's not the team I once thought it was."

Magneto uncrossed his arms and rested the palms of his hands on his desk, tapping them. "How do I know you won't go running back to them?" He repeated.

Rogue looked at him. "That mansion isn't my home anymore. They've made me an outcast. I'm never going back." She said, unable to keep bitterness from sneaking into her voice.

A small smirk formed on Magneto's face. "A true rogue." He said. Marie wasn't sure if he was talking to her or talking to himself. To stay on the safe side, she kept quiet.

John cleared his throat and stood up. "So, Magneto, can she stay?"

Magneto tore his gaze from Rogue to John and nodded. "Well I can't very well turn her away. She's one of us." He stood up and walked around his desk and sat back down.

While he had his back to the pair, John flashed Rogue an excited smile. Rogue gave a small one back, but she didn't feel excited. She felt nervous and unsure of herself.

Magneto sat as though thinking to himself for a moment. "We're on a current shortage of rooms, so you'll have to get Rogue to bunk with someone until we can get an extension built. I don't care who she shares a room with, just make sure she finds a place to put her stuff so it doesn't get in my way." John was nodding, as though writing the list down in his head. "Oh, and Rogue, dear, if you're going to be staying with us, you're going to be part of the Brotherhood. Tomorrow, we'll be doing an assessment of you and your powers." He paused for a moment. "That's all. Now get out."

John nodded again, swooping down and picking up Rogue's duffle bag. "Thanks Magneto."

Rogue stood up and was about to speak her own gratitude but John grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door. "Thanks!" Rogue managed to yell over her shoulder before the door slammed closed behind them.

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**AN: Is all forgiven?? :( **


	18. Welcome to the Brotherhood

**Ok

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Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

**Okay, so if you want the explanation of the big long absence, here it is. First in the Fall, I was to be one of the leads in the school play and some girl whined about her part and stole my part. So I spent October and November fighting over this play and I was so angry all the time. Also in November, the computer started to go a little whacky, but it still operated decently. Near the middle of December it started to go completely stupid, so I started to lay off. Christmas break my cousin was over and he took a peek. New Year's Eve (Or New Year's Day, depending on how you want to look at it) the computer seemed perfectly fine so I did quite a bit of writing. Next morning my cousin had to leave so he left instructions. My brother tried to follow them but the computer just stopped working. Basically, you turn it on and all you get is the background. No icons, no task bar, nothing. My mom didn't take the computer to be fixed until the start of March. Now, obviously I didn't go all this time without a computer. I was borrowing my brother's and eventually Centri's dad got a new laptop and let me borrow his old one. I could have continued my stories, but I'm the kind of person that can't stand writing the same thing twice, so I never did cause I was too ticked off. Anyways, for a while I thought the computer was going to get wiped. Luckily, it didn't, it's back, I'm happy. Here's the next chapter. :)  
**

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**Welcome to the Brotherhood**

"And this is the kitchen!" John finished, pointing to the doorway.

Rogue rubbed her temples. "John, I'm not going to be able to remember everything. There's just so much."

John was grinning. "Don't worry. I'll give be your guide everyday until you know this place front to back."

Rogue just nodded and was about to speak when her stomach growled. "Can we get something to eat?" She asked. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until they had approached the kitchen. She didn't care how late it was, she was starving.

John laughed. "Yah of course, let's get you some food."

He went inside, and dropped her bag by the doorway. A few voices echoed from the kitchen, and when Rogue walked in, she saw four people seated at a table next to the wall. They were all roaring with laughter, and when John walked in, he went straight over to them.

"Hey guys!" He grinned.

One of the girls tilted her head up as he walked over. "Look who it is." She said with a smirk, her black hair falling over her face. She nudged the blonde girl beside her, who rested her chin in her hands. "Hey Pyro."

"Hey buddy!" One of the boys was talking now. "We're-playing-cards!-Should-we-deal-you-in?" He asked, speaking unusually fast.

John looked over his shoulder at Rogue. "Well, actually guys-"

He was cut off as the boy with white hair sped out of his seat and dragged John over and forced him into a seat.

The other boy with auburn hair was shuffling a deck with a big grin on his face. "Don't be ridiculous mon ami. Of course you want to play."

The girl with blonde hair looked up, only now catching sight of Rogue standing awkwardly in the doorway of the kitchen. "Hey, who's the chick?" She asked, turning her head to look questionably at John.

The boy with white hair snapped his head around to look at Rogue for half a second then back to John. "Why didn't you tell us you weren't alone?"

John sighed in irritation. "I was going to introduce you guys, but you didn't give me a chance!" That kind of tone would usually bring shame or embarrassment to people, but the four others just looked at Pyro, as though they didn't care what they'd done. They just wanted to know who the girl was.

To Rogue it felt as though she was just watching a movie and not at all part of the scene. However, she came back to her senses when Pyro was about to introduce her. "I'm Rogue." She spoke first. She didn't want to seem like some kind of coward hiding behind another mutant. She forced herself to step into the kitchen and come over to the table, leaning against the wall, casually crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm the new recruit to the Brotherhood."

"Bonjour." The boy with auburn hair was speaking before she had even finished talking. He looked up at her, giving her a wink. Rogue couldn't help but stare at his face, more specifically his eyes. They were red on black. "Remy, at your service." He seemed to give a little bow before reaching over and grabbing her gloved hand, planting a kiss on the back of her hand.

Rogue knew she was going to start blushing and was thankful when the other boy nudged Remy in the ribs. "Hey-Gambit!-Stop-flirting-for-once!" He snapped, looking up at Rogue, his blue eyes seeming to pierce through her.

Gambit muttered something in French and went back to shuffling his card, a small smirk on his face.

John rolled his eyes. "Rogue, that's Quicksilver. He's an idiot."

Quicksilver spun around. "Hey!-Fuck-off-Pyro!"

Pyro ignored him and nodded with his chin to the girl with black shoulder length hair. "That's-" He was cut off.

The girl held a hand to halt John. "I can introduce myself thanks Pyro." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, then stared directly at Rogue. "I'm Scarlet Witch." Her brown eyes looked up and down, as though seizing Rogue up. "I guess you'll do." She seemed to be talking to herself.

Rogue shot John a confused look. He gave a small smirk. "Magneto's her dad. The idiot's her brother." Rogue bit her lip to keep it from falling open in surprise.

Rogue looked back between Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. They looked and acted about as opposite as anyone could. "Really?" She asked in disbelief.

Scarlet Witch smirked, which was a change from her eerie neutral look. "Unfortunately."

"I'm Boom Boom. If that's too much of a mouthful, then I'm Tabitha" The last girl spoke. She had short cut blonde hair which seemed to glisten. She gazed up at Rogue with blue eyes and winked. "I love your hair."

Rogue shifted feet, feeling uneasy. "Um...Thanks, I guess." She mumbled.

Boom Boom let out a small laugh. "Sit down. Play a hand with us."

Rogue just nodded and took the only available seat left at the table, which was between Tabitha and Remy, her appetite forgotten in the awkward introductions and her sudden desire to make a good impression on them. Gambit shuffled for a few more moments, with a few fancy moves, as though showing off, and then he dealt them out.

Pyro grinned from ear to ear. "What we playing?" He asked, enthusiastically.

"Poker." Scarlet Witch answered immediately.

Rogue felt her face go red as she picked up the cards and used them to cover her face. She had no idea how to play, and didn't want to ask. She didn't want the others to think she was stupid. Remy nodded to Quicksilver. "Start us off Pietro."

Pietro beamed. "Two!" He yelled, putting down two cards and picked up another two from the deck. His grin grew.

Scarlet Witch rolled her eyes. "One." She put down a single card and picked another one up.

Rogue was confused. She had no idea what was going on. Remy seemed to sense her dilemma because while Pyro was taking his turn, he leaned over and whispered in her ear. "The point of the game chere, is to try and discard cards that have no use to you, in hopes of picking up good cards." Rogue turned and gave him a blank face. Her chuckled. "Full house. Straight. Flush. Four of a kind. Three of a kind. Two pair."

"Oh!" Now she understood. Tabitha had just picked up her cards. Rogue did a quick analysis of her hand and put down a card. "One." She picked up one from the deck.

Gambit took his turn, and then everyone took another turn. Then the betting started. Pietro was looking extremely smug. "Fifty."

Tabitha smirked. "I see you fifty and raise you thirty."

John looked down at his hand. "I see you eighty and raise you twenty."

Scarlet Witch looked down and sighed. "Fold."

Rogue stared down at her hand. "I see you a hundred."

Gambit didn't even hesitate. "I see you a hundred and raise you fifty mon ami."

Pietro looked down at his hand. "I-see-you-a-hundred-and-fifty-and-raise-you- another-fifty."

Tabitha shook her head. "Woah. I fold."

Pyro grinned. "I see you two hundred and raise you fifty."

Rogue grinned. "Fold!" She placed her cards facedown.

Remy looked down thoughtfully. "I see you two hundred and fifty."

Pietro was nodding. "I-see-you-two-hundred-and-fifty." He paused and then a smirk crossed his face. "I-raise-you-fifty."

Pyro smirked. "I see you three hundred." He nodded to Remy.

Remy shook his head. "Fold."

Pietro was beaming. "Alright. Show." He flipped his cards down. "Four-of-a-kind- baby!" He laughed, looking excited.

John lowered his hand. "Straight flush."

Pietro's face was comical. His jaw dropped so it was almost touching the table, his eyes huge with disbelief. A smug grin crossed John's face as he leaned back, kicking his feet onto the table. "Cough up Maximoff."

Pietro scowled. "Fuck-off-Pyro!"

While the boys were squabbling, Tabitha leaned over to Rogue. "So what room you staying in girl?"

Rogue looked back at Pyro for help, but he was currently at a stand off with Pietro. "Oh, well, I'm not sure. Magneto just told me to find someone to put up with me until he can get me my own room."

Tabitha grinned. "Don't worry. You can bunk with me."

"Are you kidding?" Scarlet Witch was laughing sarcastically. "She'll lose her things in that mess you call a room." She looked at Rogue, the neutral face back. "You can sleep in my room."

Rogue nodded. "Thanks."

Tabitha reached under her seat and pulled out a bottle. "Alright. Now that you're part of the Brotherhood, you got to make it official." She said with a giggle. "Time for enrolment!"

Scarlet Witch was smirking. "Yah! That's right!" She reached under and handed Tabitha a glass.

Tabitha poured a clear liquid into the glass, then passed it over to Rogue. "Drink it." She ordered. "Then you'll be official!" She passed the bottle to Scarlet Witch. "Here Wanda, you can keep it in your room tonight."

Rogue gave her a blank look. "Why?" It seemed rather childish. "What is it?"

Tabitha and Wanda shared amused looks. Even Remy had turned to watch Rogue, no longer interested in the heated debate between Pietro and John.

Tabitha was still grinning. "Just drink it. Then we'll tell you."

Rogue raised the glass and took a small sniff. The drink smelled powerful, whatever it was.

John seemed momentarily distracted from his argument and looked at Rogue. "Don't drink that."

Remy leaned over. "Shoot it." He said under his breath.

"Huh?" Rogue looked at him.

"Now!" Wanda said, unable to wait any longer.

Rogue shrugged and did as she was told. The drink hit the back of her throat, and she swallowed it down before she could cough it back up. At first she tasted nothing, then her throat burned and the taste was sharp on her tongue.  
"What was that?" She coughed, as Remy thumped her on the back.

"Bonne fille!" Remy grinned as Pietro cackled like a maniac, falling back, nearly out of his chair.

Tabitha was grinning. "Don't worry. Pietro and Wanda made us three-" she gestured to herself, Remy and John "drink it when we first joined." She paused. "It's Smirnoff Vodka."

Wanda looked highly amused. "Welcome to the Brotherhood."

**

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**

**AN: This chapter was mainly a filler. I wanted kind of a fun and interesting way to introduce some more classic/favorite X-Men characters. Personally, I enjoyed typing this chapter, but anyways, reviews are always welcome. Lots of love. :)  
**


	19. Transition

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.**

**BW: So, this chapter was going to be longer. Like I was going to continue to the morning, but I decided to just post what I already had, so please don't be upset the chapter is short or something. It's cause I posted it early. It's been so long since I posted for this story and I wanted to thank you guys for being so loyal and reviewing. Enjoy!  


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**Transition**

"This is my room." Wanda said, pushing her door open. On the way to the bedroom, Wanda had very briefly explained that the men and women slept in different wings. Tabitha had tailed along and threw in her opinion on some things every so often. She would often begin to ramble about something and Wanda would have to tell her to shut up so she could finish explaining whatever it was she was talking about.

Wanda opened her door and gestured for Rogue to go in first. Rogue did so with a quick nod of thanks. Wanda stepped in almost immediately after her and flicked on the light.

"The bed closest to the window is yours." Wanda said as she came up behind Rogue, who was taking in the room. It was so organized that it almost appeared empty. Rogue felt a small pang of sadness. Wanda's room resembled her old room back at Xavier's so much.

While Rogue went over to what was to be her bad and dropped her bag onto it, Wanda went over to the closet and pushed the bottle of vodka in the far corner.

"I thought you had this room to yourself?" Rogue asked, sitting down beside her bag.

Wanda went over to her dresser and began shifting things inside of it around, looking for something. "I do."

"So why do you have two beds?" Rogue asked quietly, hoping she wasn't getting on Wanda's nerves.

Wanda stood up, having found what she was looking for and had I bundled up in one hand. "Magneto put at least two beds in every room in case of situations like these, where we end up with a new recruit with no room. He's still working on building more bedrooms." She threw the last bit over her shoulder and headed into another separate room.

While she wasn't in the room, Rogue opened her bag and changed into her pajama pants and t-shirt. Then she closed off her bag and shoved it under her bed. She'd ask Wanda in the morning about where she could properly store her clothes, but for now, she was too tired to ask.

Wanda came out of the room, having changed, and Rogue felt silly for not having realized that it was the bathroom. "So tell me Rogue. Why did you join Magneto?" Wanda asked as she went and threw her clothes into her drawer and then turned on the lamp on the bedside table.

Rogue sighed. "Oh. I just…" She didn't want to have to explain. It still hurt to think that the X-Men had turned their backs on her. "I knew John and I didn't have anywhere to go."

Wanda looked back at Rogue as she flicked off the room light. The lamp seemed very dim in comparison. "So how did you know Pyro?"

Rogue pulled back her blankets and crawled into her new bed. "He was an old friend of mine." She shivered as she pulled the blankets back over her. The bed seemed so cold and unfriendly. As childish as it was, she missed her old bed.

Wanda got into her own bed. "Usually I would ask, but I can see you're not in the mood to explain." She sank down under blankets. "I'll ask tomorrow." And then she turned out the lights.

Rogue waited under her blankets in silence. _Good night. Good night. _She heard Jubilee and Kitty whisper and giggle good night to her, like they would do every night back at the Institute. But they weren't here to say it now. So Rogue waited to see if Wanda would.

The room was dark, save for the little slit of moonlight that fell through the window. In that way, it gave such an eerie resemblance to her old room. Still Rogue waited for Wanda to say something. After a bit, Wanda's breathing became slower and evened out, signaling the other girl was fast asleep.

Rogue sighed. "Good night." She whispered to herself. She would always say it back to Kitty and Jubilee, but they weren't here to receive it.

Rogue rolled over in her bed. As angry as she had been with the X-Men for not listening to her, she missed them. She had been so mad at the time that all she cared about was getting out.

Tears stung her eyes as she came to the full realization at what she had done. She had left the Institute. She wasn't an X-Man anymore. She was a member of the Brotherhood.

Rogue rolled over in her bed and faced the dark wall. She was a stranger in this unfamiliar place, living under the roof of a man she didn't trust. She had given up her family in a fit of rage. She had given up everything because of a blond haired bitch. Her tears escaped her eyes and fell down her cheeks onto her pillow.

She couldn't believe that it had only been a few hours since she left the Institute. It felt like so long ago. Rogue sighed and forced herself to stop crying. She wasn't completely alone. She still had John. He had always been one of her best friends. And even as she made this scary transition, he was by her side, fulfilling his duty as her best friend.

She felt somewhat comforted. She had given up her home, security, and family, but she still had a friend. For now, that would have to do.

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**AN: Alright, so next chapter will be the morning/assessment and stuff. Questions? Comments? Please Review!! I will love you forever! :)  
**


	20. Explosion

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men

BW: Hello all! I know it's been a while. I started college and my life went crazy for a few years. The last year has been especially rough for me. Somehow though I got my muse back a few days ago, so I decided to see if I was still any good at writing. Sorry for the wait! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It's the first thing I've written in a few years (besides essays and projects).

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**Explosion**

"Hey." Rogue felt someone poke her in the shoulder, but she ignored it.

"Hey." The same person spoke again and poked her. Rogue still refused to move. She felt like she had just fallen asleep. She didn't want to wake up.

"I said: HEY!" This time the person smacked her across the shoulder.

"Ow! Jubilee!" Rogue yelled, sitting up, feeling pissed off that Jubilee would hit her. Jubilee should have known better then anyone else that she wasn't a morning person.

Rogue looked up into the face of Wanda, who was staring at her. At first she looked surprised, and then it slowly curved into amusement. "Jubilee?"

Rogue was taken off guard. She had forgotten about her ordeal from the night before, but it all came rushing back to her in an instant. "Oh yah…" For an instant, Rogue felt depressed as she thought of her dear old friend, but then shook it off. _It's not like she's dead. We're just on separate teams. I'm sure I will see her again, one way or another._ "She's just someone I know." Rogue said, looking away so Wanda wouldn't pick up on how upset she was.

Wanda seemed to care less. "Whatever." She turned away from Rogue. "Look, I didn't want to wake you, I know joining the Brotherhood can be overwhelming. But Magneto insisted you come for breakfast with the rest of the team. He wants you in the training room with the rest of us so he can test out what you're made of." She looked back over at Rogue. "So you got ten minutes to dress and get your ass to the breakfast table or you have to wait until after your assessment." And she left the room before Rogue could answer.

With a sigh, Rogue flopped back in her bed, staring at the ceiling. _What have I got myself into?_

* * *

Rogue was aware of all eyes on her as she entered the kitchen. She ignored the stares of the others and scanned the room until she spotted the familiar face of John, then hurried across the room to him, sitting at his table.

"Bonjour." Remy was sitting next to John, and he winked as he spoke to her.

Rogue nodded back in response. "Morning."

"How did you sleep?" John asked, seemingly ignoring Remy.

Rogue shrugged. "Can't really complain I guess."

John nodded, giving her a sympathetic look. In an effort to change the conversation, he pushed a box of cereal and a jug of milk towards her. "Here, eat up. You need your strength for training."

Rogue looked at the box of cereal and smiled slowly. "Lucky Charms?"

John grinned, looking unusually sheepish. "I know it's your favourite." Rogue opened her mouth to ask but he grinned and spoke again. "Hey, I paid attention to all of your weird habits back at the –" He cut himself off suddenly. He cleared his throat and then finished. "Back at your old place."

Rogue thought it was strange he cut himself off, but she shrugged and poured herself a bowl, just as she felt something rush past her. She turned to see Pietro standing behind her, as Wanda and Tabitha walked in the room. Well, more like Wanda was dragging Tabitha into the room.

"But everyone knows I'm not a morning person!" Tabitha was whining. "I want to go back to bed!"

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Yah, but then you'd miss the assessment. Don't you want to see what Rogue can do? Magneto told me about her. I heard she's got a pretty wicked power." She smirked.

Rogue rolled her eyes. _Yah, if you call never being able to touch anyone for the rest of my life awesome. _She gave a little disdainful sniff without realizing it. _I'd gladly trade with anyone!_

Another thought struck her and she turned to Pyro and whispered to him. "You said Pietro and Wanda are Magneto's kids right?" Pyro nodded. "So why doesn't she call him dad?"

Pyro looked uncomfortable and shifted in his seat. "She doesn't like him." Wanda and Tabitha slid into their seats at the table. "I'll explain later." He mumbled. "Oh!" He added as a side note. "If Pietro ever tells you to look away from your plate while you're eating, don't."

Rogue thought that was a bizarre comment to make, but she decided that if he said it, then it was something she shouldn't disregard. She fell silent as she proceeded to eat her breakfast. She observed the others antics, and through the process of eating, she figured out why John had said what he did.

"Yo-Remy-what-time-is-it?" Pietro asked.

Remy looked down at his watch. In that brief instant, Pietro reached onto the Cajun's plate and took his sausage and popped it into his mouth. If Rogue had blinked, she would have missed it.

Remy looked up, but didn't say the time. He took one look at his plate, then turned and grabbed Pietro by the collar. "I swear, mon ami, the next time you do that-"

He cut himself off and let go of Pietro. He glanced once at the doorway, then looked back at his plate, finishing the rest of his breakfast.

Rogue turned to see Magneto had entered the kitchen. He gazed around the room, then made his way to Rogue. Everyone's eyes were on him. Soon he stood before Rogue. Once again, she felt insignificant in his presence.

"Are you ready my dear?" He asked her, his eyes bearing into hers.

_Ready for what? The assessment? _Rogue felt there was too much weight in the words. She gazed around the room, seeing as eyes had shifted onto her. It hit her like a ton of bricks. _He meant to be one of them. To be a member of the Brotherhood!_ Finding herself speechless, she simply nodded, unable to tear her gaze from his.

He smiled. "Then follow me. It's time for us to see what you can do."

* * *

Rogue followed Magneto into a large room. She half expected to walk into a room that was similar to the Danger Room, but knew that that wasn't going to happen.

The room was large, yes, and had random things through it. In one corner, there appeared to be a small building, perhaps a house, but it was in ruins. The roof was gone, and there were holes in the wall. On the second level, there were parts where the wall was completely gone. Another corner of the room had all sorts of exercising machines, and blue mats, one would usually use at a gym for stretching. There were all sorts of other things scattered through the room, she assumed it was equipment for others for practising their powers. There were brick walls lined up one after another, with piles of bricks scattered around them, as if someone had smashed previous walls.

When Rogue looked up, she saw something that resembled a balcony, except she didn't see any stairs, or a door, or a window to access the balcony. She figured it was probably meant to be a vantage point for those who could fly.

As she stared around the room, she couldn't help but notice that nearly everything in the room contained metal. Even the balcony and the walls were laced with metal. _Probably so Magneto can control everything. _Rogue thought to herself. She guessed it made sense. After all, the X-Men's Danger Room had a control room, and Xavier usually sat in that room, overseeing everything.

She shook her head, forcing the thoughts of the X-Men out of her brain. _Okay focus!_

She realized that everyone who had been in the kitchen had followed her and Magneto into the training room. She turned back to Magneto, expecting him to tell everyone to leave the room, but as the seconds passed, Rogue realized that he was going to let them stay.

Suddenly, Rogue felt awkward and took a step closed to Pyro. _I was hoping it would just be me and Magneto for my assessment. Maybe John too. He's probably going to let the whole team observe me._ Her whole body stiffened with dread. _What if he wants me to fight all of them?_

She looked up at John, hoping for some kind of gesture of reassurance, that everything would be okay, that she was just letting her imagination get the best of her. However, John did not look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on Magneto.

Magneto turned to face the group of mutants. "Brothers!" He called out, his voice ringing echoing throughout the room. "You may have noticed a new presence in our midst! She is not yet one of us, but we will test her, and I will let you, my brothers, as always, judge whether she is worthy or not to live and fight alongside us!"

There was a cheering throughout the room, as everyone gave their approval.

Rogue looked back at John. His face was blank. He was still staring at Magneto, but he had not cheered with the others. "John!" She whispered, not wanting the others to hear her, she pulled on his sleeve. "What is he going to make me do?"

Finally, Pyro looked at her. He looked shocked, but then he grinned. "Don't worry. As long as you show them you have a power, you'll get in no problem. Magneto will probably just partner you up with some to spar with for a couple of minutes." He paused for a moment. "Think of it like a Danger Room session."

Magneto held his hands up, and the cheering died down. "Step forward Rogue."

With a last glance at John, Rogue moved forward until she stood right in front of Magneto. He placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her around so she was facing the whole group. Only know was she aware of how many people were there. _There's so many! More then the X-Men. And this is what we- They have been training for. The final showdown between The Brotherhood and the X-Men. But the X-Men are way out numbered. _

Although she should have been worrying about her own acceptance into this band of mutants, she couldn't help the pang of worry she felt for her old teammates.

Magneto scanned the group for a moment. "Rogue, you shall prove your worthiness in a battle with Quicksilver. Defeat him. Prove you are a mutant to be reckoned with, and we will forever welcome you into the arms of the Brotherhood."

Magneto then stepped around her and walked away. With a flick of his hand, everyone turned and followed him into the corner of the room. With another flick of his hand, the metal on the wall pulled out, creating rows and rows of bleachers, which the Brotherhood all piled on, roaring and cheering at the prospect of battle

Only Quicksilver remained in the clearing. He had a look of arrogance on his face. "Do-not-think-I-will-go-easy-on-you-just-because-you-are-a-girl." He had bent over, as though prepared to spring at her, but he straightened up. "Wanda!"

Rogue was surprised to see Wanda running up to her. "Take your gloves off."

Rogue looked at her in shock. "Why?"

Wanda rolled her eyes. "I may not know the full extent of your powers, but I got the basic of it from Pyro. You'll need your hands free if you plan on using your powers." She slipped something into Rogue's hand and winked. "I'm rooting for you." Then she ran back to the bleachers and took her seat between Tabitha and John.

Rogue looked down to see Wanda had handed her a pair of gloves. She pulled off her own pair, throwing them to the ground, and put on the pair Wanda had handed her. She didn't notice until she had put them on, that they were fingerless. She looked over at the bleachers. Wanda gave her a nod.

Magneto lifted a hand and the Brotherhood fell silent. "Begin!" He yelled.

Rogue didn't even have time to blink. Pietro was running in circles around her, pushing her, and cackling like he was having the time of his life.

_Come on Rogue. Focus. _She thought to herself. It was hard to focus when she was being repeatedly pushed. "Stop it." She whispered.

She could hear the Brotherhood roaring again. They were cheering for her. They were cheering for Pietro. They just wanted to see someone get hurt. They wanted to see a great display of power. She could hear her blood pounding in her ears.

"Stop it." She said again, a little louder.

Pietro shoved her from behind with so much force she fell to her knees. She felt so weak and insignificant. How was she supposed to use her powers when Pietro was moving faster then her? She would never be able to grab him and use her own power.

The roaring from the Brotherhood continued, seemingly to get louder. Pietro stopped running in circles and looked down at Rogue. "Is that all you got? I push you a couple times and you fall over? I thought you were supposed to be a mutant."

She could barely hear him over the cheering of the Brotherhood and the pounding in her head. Pietro kicked her in the ribs, knocking her onto her side.

"Why won't you do anything?" He called at her. The yelling of the Brotherhood only seemed to encourage him, as if they were supporting him.

Rogue closed her eyes. "Shut up." She whispered.

And then she realized the Brotherhood weren't the only ones being vocal. There were voices in her head. The voices of all the people she had absorbed over time. They were all yelling together in unison. She felt them taking over, as anger consumed her. A wrath she had never felt before.

Pietro bent over. "What's that?"

Rogue opened her eyes and flashed out a metal hand. "I said." She hissed out, her hand gripping his neck. "Shut up."

Pietro's eyes widened in surprise. "Cool." He choked out. "Your hand is metal. You can turn into metal." He was gasping.

As if coming to her senses, Rogue let go of his neck, staring at her hand in amazement. Her hand was metal, but as she stared at it, the metal turned back into skin.

She was so caught up in her own hand, that she didn't notice Pietro had caught his breath. In a flash, he ran behind her and pushed her again. "Your assessment isn't over just because you did one little trick!"

Rogue felt something snap inside her. "Stop it!" She yelled, turning towards him. She stuck her hands out, and to her amazement, ice shot from her hands.

Pietro's eyes widened once again, but he was faster then the ice. He dodged out of the way, and ran at her again.

Before he could get to her, the metal on the floor snaked around his ankles, tripping him. He fell on his face, and looked up in annoyance. "Dad!" He looked over at the bleachers. "Why are you interfering? You know this fight isn't over!"

The Brotherhood quieted down as they stared at their leader in amazement.

Rogue looked over too. Magneto got to his feet, a look of surprise on his face. "I didn't do it." He whispered.

Everyone whipped their head around to stare at Rogue.

Rogue could feel goose bumps crawling down her skin as a feeling of horror crossed her mind.

Then everything exploded.

Everyone was screaming. Rogue grabbed her head, covering her ears to try and block out the screaming, but everything just seemed to get louder. She could hear the shrieking of metal as what seemed like every bit of metal tore off the walls and flew at Rogue.

It didn't hit her. It spun in circles around her. It was in that moment she realized nobody was screaming. It was her. She was the one screaming. Her and the voices in her head.

She could feel control slipping away.

And what she thought were goose bumps was ice, crawling over her skin, covering her body, but as fast as that thought crossed her mind, it turned to metal. In the metal surrounding her, she saw Pyro's oh so familiar zippo.

She stood up straight, and all the metal dropped to the floor. All except the zippo which clicked open. A horrifying thought crossed her mind. "You know all those dangerous mutants you hear about on TV?"A twisted smile crossed her face. "I'm the worst one."

She barely registered seeing Pyro's face, which was one of complete surprise, mixed with horror. Fire rushed from the zippo towards the group of mutants sitting on the bleachers. The ones of the ends jumped up, trying to avoid the blaze, but it didn't matter. The flames stopped a couple yards in front of them, and then slowly recoiled.

The zippo fell to the ground. Rogue stared at her hands. She looked up and found herself standing right beside Magneto.

How had she crossed the room so fast? Her own shock was reflected in his eyes. She looked where she had been originally standing, and saw a familiar cloud of blue smoke, which usually resulted in Nightcrawlers teleportation.

She slammed her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, she was standing on the balcony of the training room.

Nobody was saying anything. Their eyes just seemed to be following her every move. Confusion, shock, excitement, amusement all passing from face to face.

She blinked again and she was standing next to Pietro again. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?" She screamed at the group of mutants assembled on the bleachers.

She felt a piercing pain in her knuckles. She ripped the gloves off as bone claws slid from the back of her hands.

She was no longer in control.

She glared at Magneto. "I'll kill you!"

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you liked it, and please leave a review to let me know if this was any good :) I hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it!


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